25 KakaSaku Moments
by hikomokushi
Summary: 25 drabble prompts, written using the prompts from the kakasakudrabble community on livejournal. Various themes, ratings and situations. KakashixSakura Disclaimer: Written strictly for entertainment. I do not own Naruto, nor the characters.
1. Show Me A Garden

**Title: **Show Me A Garden  
**Fandom/Community:** Naruto / kakasakudrabble  
**Characters:** Kakashi, Sakura  
**Pairing:** KakaSaku  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Word of the Week:** Growing

**Author Notes:** Well, nobody has actually _updated_ the **kakasakudrabble** community since like March. But they have the Weeks listed in the information, and there are 25 weeks. And seeing as they're _drabbles_, I totally just wanna do it. While the community wants drabbles between 100 and 500 words, mine will all be 1,000 words. As I don't plan on posting them in a community that is dead.

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Sakura arched her back like a cat against the reclusive man's chest, practically purring. Her bubble-gum-pink hair was mussed and slightly damp from sweat, but she merely ran her hand along the bedside, relishing the cool feel of the freshly laundered sheets beneath and on her naked form. Her long legs tangled in the duvet that had half-fallen off the bed. She turned her head slowly until she was peering over her shoulder at her lover.

"You are insufferable, Hatake Kakashi."

"Ah," he murmured, burying his face into the curve of her shoulder, "but you love me."

His left arm curled underneath her form, wrapped possessively around her slim waist and held her against him. His other hand had previously rested heavily on her thigh, but now finger-walked ticklishly up her side as he trailed open-mouthed kisses on her shoulder.

The young woman giggled slightly, her eyes still pressed closed as she shivered from his ministrations. Then she sighed and opened her jaded eyes, gazing at the smoky sheet the side of her face was pressed against. "I think this completely defeated the purpose of _washing_ the sheets. We made them dirty again."

The man pushed his hand over the swell of her hip, splaying his fingers on the contours of her stomach. His teeth nibbled at the junction between her throat and her shoulder, already rosy with upraised blood. He licked at the lightly bruising skin, smirking when he heard her gasp.

"I prefer it this way," he murmured, shifting upwards slightly and pulled the arm underneath her back a bit, to lift himself up on his elbow.

He draped himself more fully over her, laying kisses against the side of her face and along her jaw, before pressing his lips against her own.

Sakura closed her eyes against the emotions that swirled around in her gut, elicited by the gentleness her lover was using with her. With their busy lives, she had few opportunities to merely _bask_ in the love that he could pour on her when given the chance. When he finally removed his lips from hers she smiled indulgently. "You _enjoy_ sleeping on dirty, sweat-soaked sheets?" she asked in a breathy voice.

"No."

Her eyes flashed open and glanced down at what she could see of the side of his face that wasn't kissing her chest. "Say what?" She tried to turn away from him, to prevent him from kissing her, and received a strained grunt that came from deep in his chest when his strong arms held her down. She lifted an arm up instead and tugged at a lock of spiking silver hair. "But, you just said—?"

Kakashi kicked his feet from the duvet, now turning her, and pressing his knees on either side of her legs, hovered above her. "You always use fabric softener," he says, as though it explained everything.

Sakura pressed her hands to his bare chest and pushed him up, ignoring the fact that he seemed more than happy to curve his back sharply and observe her exposed form in better light. She barely registered that his mismatched eyes narrowed approvingly. _"Excuse me?"_

He gently took her wrists in his hands, slowly removing them from his chest as he lowered himself down, smirking excruciatingly arrogantly in front of her as he kissed her nose. He guided her hands above her head before finally lacing his larger fingers with her slender ones.

"You use fabric softener and my bed always ends up smelling like something I'd wash my floor with," he elaborated, lifting his eyes to meet hers; peering from underneath the curtain of silver hair that fell in front of his face. "I much prefer when my bed smells like sex." He punctuated his words with kisses along her jaw and throat; up to breathe heavily in her ear or down to lick at the sweat that lingered against the hollow of her throat. "Because then it smells like you." He groaned appreciatively when she lifted her head to meet his lips with her own. "I hate when you're not here. I hate when I'm not looking at you. When I'm not kissing you. Not touching you. Not making love to you. I would keep you chained to my bed if I could, but you'd break out and cut my balls off."

"A bright, shining, _romantic_ moment," she murmured, releasing his hands to slide up his chorded shoulders and wrap around his neck; one hand tangling in his thick hair. "And then your _mouth_."

He grinned roguishly and nipped at her neck.

"Kakashi." She tugged reproachfully on the hair at the back of his head and gazed up at him meaningfully. "One tree?"

He groaned and slumped against her, but she enjoyed the heavy, _protective_ feeling she received when their bodies were pressed completely together, and it was hard to tell where one of them began and the other ended. "Why are _trees_ so important to you?"

Sakura smiled slightly and closed her eyes, reveling in his warmth. "I'm named for one?" He made a strangled chuckle into her hair. "I don't know. My mother used to tell me that her and my dad went out and bought a tree and planted it the first day they got married. So it could grow, like their marriage grew ever from that day."

She grew quiet and waited for his response.

When he said nothing, she caved. "Plant one tree with me in the training grounds and I will take all next weekend off."

His head rose and he forced her mouth open, tongue incessantly sliding against hers forcefully. He devoured her mouth, completely ruling her before he pulled back and chastely kissed her slightly open and swelling lips. "Make it all week and I'll let you have _two_ trees plants."

Sakura groaned. "Kakashi, you _really are_ insufferable."

"Yes," he murmured and leaned his forehead against hers, staring so directly into her eyes she almost felt uncomfortable. "But you love me."

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I enjoy writing KakaSaku _so_ much, it's not even funny.  
I owe so much to Alaina for pointing this out and introducing me to it. -hearts-

- Hiko Mokushi


	2. Cause None of Us Were Angels

**Title:** Cause None of Us Were Angels  
**Fandom/Community:** Naruto / kakasakudrabble  
**Characters:** Kakashi, Sakura, Tsunade, Shizune, (indirect mention of Naruto)  
**Pairing:** KakaSaku  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Word of the Week:** Intent

**Author Notes:** I seriously don't think Ninja have serious regulations against age-differences. I much prefer the idea that while some people wouldn't like it, with their line of work, they take the love where they can get it.

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_There's a long way to go  
And I'm aching to know  
If what we're doing is right  
And the feeling plays on my mind  
I'm torn between extremes  
Of sacrifice and dreams  
I met them in between_

_I've sold my soul for what I love  
And felt the cold from up above  
I've learned some things I didn't know  
And watched some lives go up in smoke_  
"_Take My Hand" by __Goodnight Nurse_

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When Tsunade told her to please leave the room, her internal fear for herself dropped tenfold.

She was far more worried about him.

"Kakashi, you _don't_ need to do this!" Sakura turned, ignoring her sensei and the way Shizune was walking almost threateningly towards her. Jaded eyes watered profusely, and she reached to clutch at his forearm, crossed with his other against his chest defensively.

He merely turned his head slightly to look at her, politely avoiding letting her grab his arm, laying his hand on her head instead, ruffling her hair lightly. "Yes, I do." He returned his gloved hand to his pocket. She missed the way it clenched reflexively under the material. His voice was strangely seriously, and it seemed so strange from him. The Kakashi that she knew was _anything_ but serious.

Not even during sex.

"C'mon, Sakura," Shizune whispered to her, the woman's eyes suddenly softening as she pulled at the younger girl's shoulders.

Eyes downcast, the kunoichi allowed herself to be led out of the room, glancing back over her shoulder at him before the door was shut in her face. He followed her the entire way, his single visible eye completely devoid of emotion, even as his fist tightened even more inside his pocket.

The voluptuous woman sat, staring at him, perched upon the edge of the Hokage desk, her foot tapping an incessant tone on the ground as he switched his line of vision to an unappealing patch of floor as though it were interesting.

"You've put me in a difficult position, Kakashi," she finally sighed, uncrossing her arms and leaning backwards on her desk. "Obviously, we have no record of this in the books and have no real orders on how to deal with it. She _was_ your student, and is still currently under you on Team 7. You are not legally her teacher, though, as she is my apprentice, but she _is_ fourteen years your junior."

Kakashi merely stood there, his droopy eye focused on the ground in front of his boot-encased toes. He briefly entertained what she would do if he decided to take _Icha Icha_ out and read instead of listening to her lecture?

Tsunade sighed and picked up a random scroll from her desk, reclining fully now, and tossed it into the air above her hip, catching it; then repeated the process. The gentle _thump_ the rolled parchment made when it came in contact with her palm was slightly soothing on her frazzled nerves. "Of course, she _is_ of legal age to be married; past legal age of consent."

She caught the scroll in her palm with a snap and sat up sharply, fixing him with an angry glower. "But this is _Sakura_ we're talking about, and I feel incredibly protective of her, considering she has no adults other than us in her life. I would hate for my apprentice to be _exploited_."

Kakashi glanced up, his gray eye staring. Despite her rank as Hokage and one of the legendary sannin, she still felt incredibly nervous whenever he fixed his serious face on her. His eyes seemed to look _through_ her and never _at_ her.

"What do you have planned for my apprentice, Kakashi?"

"Excuse me?"

His voice was quiet, and he seemed almost taken back by her question.

"Damn it, Kakashi," she hissed, hurling the scroll through the air and at his head rather forcefully. He dodged a scant heartbeat before it would have come in contact with his masked nose and it hit the wall with enough force to cause a crack to form. "What's your purpose? What do you want out of this? If you've thought nothing beyond getting in her pants—"

"I have no intentions."

Tsunade froze mid-speech, her mouth hanging open slightly before she shut it, quelling her shock and gripped the edge of the desk tightly. "I have an entire _desk-full_ of objects that will be deadly if thrown at the right angle and speed. Don't _lie_ to my _face_, Kakashi!"

"I don't want anything _from her_. I just want her."

Tsunade stared.

"Will that be all, Hokage-sama?"

Her face dropped into her palm and she shook her head slowly as she cradled her steadily growing headache that had formed in her head ever since Naruto had run into her office, screaming about Kakashi _fucking_ his precious Sakura-chan.

"Shizune!" she called loudly, her eyes stilled closed.

The door slid open, and the young woman's dark head poked around the corner, peering into the room as though to gage if it was safe to step all the way into the room. She'd clearly heard that scroll hit the wall. "You called, Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade nodded into her hand. "Send Sakura back in."

The pink-haired kunoichi had obviously been listening, and despite the fact that she knew she'd have little to fear from Tsunade's anger—as it appeared to mostly be directed at Kakashi—she was still taking a risk with so blatantly showing she'd been eavesdropping. Shizune walked out again, shutting the door behind her. Kakashi could have sworn he'd heard it lock.

"I expect a personally-delivered invitation to the wedding."

Sakura turned, open-mouthed, her eyes wide. "Huuuuh?"

Tsunade's head lifted and she pointed her two index fingers at each of them. "And there _will be_ a wedding. Your chakra, his abilities; we're not letting _that_ bloodline go to waste."

"Thank you, Tsunade-shishou!" Despite the excitement that lingered in her voice, Sakura walked to his side relatively and took his proffered hand slowly.

He pulled her against him, muttering, "If you'll excuse us," then disappeared in a puff of smoke. They were at his apartment seconds later and he pressed her up against the wall, one hand tangling in her hair as he pressed furious kisses against her mouth. Her hands glided up his chest and her fingers ghosted lightly over the back of his neck.

"Don't leave me, Kakashi," she whispered against him.

His arm tightened around her. "Never. Trust me, never."


	3. I Know, Because I Felt It

**Title:** I Know, Because I Felt It  
**Fandom/Community:** Naruto / kakasakudrabble  
**Characters:** Kakashi, Sakura  
**Pairing:** KakaSaku  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Word of the Week:** Memories

**Author Notes:** I was in a kind depressing mood. It ended up turning out more _sad_ than _loving_. Even though the love is there too. It's just a little more bittersweet than I'd like.

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"Where does it hurt?"

Kakashi gestured with his non-bleeding hand to somewhere around his hip section as best he could while being led to his own bedroom. The young woman pressed lightly on his chest in order to tell him to lay back, though he didn't need to be told twice. He was ready to collapse at the moment.

"_Kami_." The girl swore. "What were you and Gai thinking? Are you complete idiots? You _just_ got back from a mission, you're in absolutely _no condition_ to be jumping around and aggravating your body like this!"

He felt her lift his arms up into the air, and he really wished that he could drop them back to his side, but she was removing his jounin vest and his over shirt, proceeding to begin to peal off his undershirt and mask without even asking for his permission. His hitae-ate had already fallen to the ground. She knew how to work around his body more than he did half the time.

"Sakura," he rasped, his voice sore, as though he'd gotten a cold from the rain that'd drenched his form. "I'm fine."

The pink-haired kunoichi wrapped something warm around his shoulders, rubbing it against his chilled skin lightly with one hand as she held her other, glowing blue with her healing chakra, over his hand. He felt the knuckles steadily mending in a flash of comforting, warm tingles that seemed to numb the pain first and then alleviate the pressure. "You're obviously not. I'm having a serious conversation with Gai. You're supposed to be _rivals_, not trying to get each other killed."

She was grasping at straws when she tried to figure out what was wrong with his side.

"Okay, taking your pants off now."

Feeling his shoes tugged from his feet, Kakashi barely registered the fact that he was being stripped naked. His pants were tugged down after that, pooling at his knees. "Okay, I see it. I think you bruised a bone." Her hands were cold and made him flinch slightly when they pressed against his hip. They warmed with the chakra massaged into the skin.

Kakashi let out an approving groan, the blanket falling from his shoulders.

Her hands were gone too soon from his form.

Sakura laid a kiss on his nose, popping back into his view, and he reached his tired arms up to grab her, but she easily avoided them. He let out a small groan. "Shhhh," she whispered; a hand rubbed patiently against his neck. "Don't go anywhere."

As she placed a second kiss to his nose, his mismatched eyes followed her half-naked form walking from the room.

_Like I'd_ want_ to_.

There was something about Sakura wearing _his_ clothes that made him feel completely at home. Not that it wasn't normal for him to feel at home when he was in his apartment. He had lived here since he had reached jounin. After his parents died. When he'd decided to end the Hatake Clan with himself.

_So much for that._

The man rolled over onto his stomach, twisting the sheets around his lower body, pushing his face into his pillow. He allowed his eyes to close for the first time that night.

From somewhere outside his bedroom, he heard the hiss of falling water. He turned his head to the side, blinking through the haze of his silver hair at the door. When Sakura walked back into the room, all he could see was her thighs and knees, and while he agreed with his first thought that the view was totally amazing, he wished he could see her face too at this angle.

"Come shower. It'll get your body heat up quicker." She gripped his wrist and tugged, the sight of her only clad in a long navy shirt of his the only motivation to get to his feet at all.

The bathroom was already steaming, and while she grabbed a towel and a washcloth for him, he stared at the shower, before his hand brushed lightly against her waist. "Kakashi," she whispered, dropping the towels onto the sink and stepping away from him. He gripped her hips tighter and vainly tried to pull her to him. "No aggravating your body."

"Since when was holding my wife aggravating?"

His voice was hoarse and he knew he'd end up having a terribly sore throat tomorrow morning. He wondered for a moment how he'd let Gai sucker him into doing laps around Konoha in the blinding rain. If the rain hadn't been so bone-chillingly cold he might not have been distracted enough to slip and slam side-first into the ground. _The great Copy-nin_, he thought bitterly to himself, _falling because of some little rain_.

Sakura's hands were pressing him into the shower.

He allowed himself to be led before wrapping his hand around her wrist and pulling her in with him at the last moment.

Despite the icy cold that spread through his back when he leaned up against the wall, the feel of her body pressed up against his was like giving life to a dying man.

He drank her in.

Kakashi's arms wrapped around the small of her back, and she snuggled her head against his chest, pink hair tickling the skin slightly as she sighed deeply. Her green eyes drifted close as she murmured, "I'm getting your shirt wet."

He grinned, his lips resting on the crown of her head. "I always preferred you naked."

"No sex, Kakashi," she whispered ascetically, but placed a chase kiss against his chest. "You're dead tired. Shower and then bed."

_As long as you're with me_, he thought to himself, reveling in the petite woman in his arms.

He committed the moment to memory; desperate never to forget the way she felt up against him. He knew every look, every emotion, every inflection of her voice. Her body was his playground and his heaven all in one.

His life and death were all rolled together inside Hatake Sakura.


	4. We're the Dreams You're Believing

**Title:** We're the Dreams You're Believing  
**Fandom/Community:** Naruto / kakasakudrabble  
**Characters:** Kakashi, Sakura, Shikamaru, Genma, (drunk) Ino and Naruto  
**Pairing:** KakaSaku  
**Rating:** R  
**Warnings:** Language, sexuality  
**Word of the Week:** Fantasy

**Author Notes:** This is basically my bitter "getthefuckoversasuke" rant, and one of my first attempts at writing more _sexual_ things. As I _have_ been promises Alaina to attempt to try lemons. Personally, I like to entertain the idea that Kakashi is a rather demanding lover. He'd be an alpha dog.

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_When I wanted to call you  
And ask you for help  
I stopped myself  
_Gomennasai_ for everything  
_Gomennasai_, I know I let you down  
_Gomennasai_ till the end  
I never needed a friend  
Like I do now_  
"Gomennasai_" by t.A.t.U._

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The blonde was swinging slightly, mumbling an incoherent song of words that existed only in her alcohol-induced brain. Sakura growled, her best friend leaning heavily on her shoulder as she attempted to help the girl from the bar. Naruto was being supported by Shikamaru. "_Fuck_, Ino-pig, you get more and more annoying every day."

"This is the last time we let them get drunk," Shikimaru grunted an agreement, as Naruto lolled, drooling on his shoulder.

Sakura wouldn't let herself concur with that.

"You know we can't do that," she murmured, glancing deep into the dark-haired man's eyes, blinking sharply. "They'll be there for us when we decide to get hammered. We take care of each other. Just because they annoy us doesn't mean we can deny them forgetting." Her green eyes grew misty as she wrapped her arms into a better position around Ino, sighing dejectedly. "We all need to forget sometimes."

Shikamaru swallowed sharply, and the woman could see his Adam's apple bob up and down in his throat.

"Shit," Sakura whispered, shortly after they were finally able to meander their way out of the bar, into the cool night air. They stopped in the middle of the darkened street of Konoha, glancing around. "I have no idea where Ino's new apartment is."

"Fuck, I don't either." Sakura almost sat down in the middle of the street, she was so utterly tired and stressed. Shikamaru grunted. "Want to take Naruto home and I'll drop her off at Genma's?"

"Nah, I know where that pervert's house is. She'll probably notice where she's at before Genma even recognizes our chakra signature." The young woman passed in front of Shikamaru, offering him a smile that ghosted across her features before it was gone. She glanced down at Naruto.

"Did you ever think it would be Ino and Naruto who found life in their love?"

She was gone before she could hear what he said. She didn't know if she wanted to.

Pushing past her weariness, she gathered strength in her legs and shot straight up, chakra-induced muscles causing her to spring like a bunny onto the rooftop of one of the complexes. It was awkward, running with Ino leaning heavily on her side, so she took the blonde's arms and held them over her shoulders, letting Ino's chest lay against her back. It was still awkward, but easier to run.

She was surprised that Genma greeted her at the door.

She hesitated for a moment, opening her mouth up and then closing it, blinking up at him; Ino sang another unintelligible song into her ear. For a moment, she drew a complete blank, and had no idea what to say.

The brown-haired jounin crossed his arms and sucked on the senbon in his mouth harder. "She get drunk again?"

"Uh, yea," she managed to stutter, now holding her friend out for the man to take. Ino seemed to recognize where she was at instantaneously; Genma caught her easily enough, wrapping his arms around his young lover.

He chewed his senbon a moment longer, staring at her. "Thanks," he muttered eventually.

"What?"

"I didn't say anything."

"No," she interjected, feeling her anger grow by the moment. "But you were staring at me with that _look_; the same one Naruto gives me when I won't tell him why I'm upset."

Genma raised an eyebrow. "So you _are_ upset?"

Sakura raised her fist and Genma just leaned against the door jam, Ino curling up against his chest. "I'm just yanking your chain, Sakura-chan," he grinned, then grew quiet. "Have you spoken to Kakashi recently?"

She was taken back by his question. "Not as of late. . ."

"Figured."

Sakura stared as he wrapped an arm around Ino's back and then swung her up and gripped her underneath her knees. "It's not my place to say. Thanks for dropping Ino off." Sakura ended up staring into the cracked green paint of his front door after he slammed it in her face.

'_Not my place to say',_ she thought, leaping to her side apartment. It took her a little longer than normal—she wasn't used to having to come from Genma's general direction—everybody else lived in a different section of Konoha. _What does that mean?_

She was taken off guard for a moment; the instant she walked into her house, she was pressed up against the door.

Mismatched eyes met her face, and she'd barely managed to spit "Kakashi, god, what the fuck are you—?" out of her mouth before his hand wound its way under her shirt. She hissed when he grabbed a breast and squeezed roughly. His mouth pressed hungrily against hers, tongue forcing past her lips to swipe at her teeth, the roof of her mouth, before sliding slickly against her own tongue. She squeaked when his free hand dipped into her shorts.

Kakashi bit her bottom lip, pulling on it slightly as he stared at her with hazy, desire-filled eyes. "I'm sick of this, Sakura."

"Wh-wha-wha-a-at a-are yo-ou t-tah," was all she managed to say as he used this thumb to push her panties out of the way, thrusting a finger, almost painfully slow, between her folds. It slid into her, suctioned between her nether lips. He curled the finger beckoningly, hitting against a _certain_ spot and causing her to cry out.

"Hot one moment, cold the next," growled Kakashi into her ear, nibbling at the lobe before running his tongue along the shell. Sakura clutched at his shoulders weakly; if he hadn't been pressed up against her, she would have fallen to the floor. "Sasuke's _dead_, Sakura. He's gone; he's _been_ gone. We're ninja; we don't get fairytale endings.

"Tell me you don't want this and I'll leave."

Sakura blinked up at him, almost unable to form words; her brain was in shambles.

Amidst her almost guttural groans, Kakashi was able to distinguish one quickly-whispered phrase.

_Don't leave, god, Kakashi, don't leave me._

He pressed his lips to hers again.


	5. Let Me Count the Ways

**Title:** Let Me Count the Ways  
**Fandom/Community:** Naruto / kakasakudrabble  
**Characters:** Kakashi, Sakura (mention of Naruto and Sasuke)  
**Pairing:** KakaSaku  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Word of the Week:** Kisses

**Author Notes:** I wrote this after reading _Twilight_ by Stephanie Meyer. Amazing author, I'm stealing _New Moon_ and _Eclipse_ from my friend as soon as she's finished them. This is a result from reading how Bella watched Edward and how she felt when he kissed her.

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_How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.__  
__I love thee to the depth and breadth and height__  
__My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight__  
__For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.__  
__I love thee to the level of everyday's__  
__Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.__  
__I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;__  
__I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.__  
__I love thee with a passion put to use__  
__In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.__  
__I love thee with a love I seemed to lose__  
__With my lost saints, --- I love thee with the breath,__  
__Smiles, tears, of all my life! --- and, if God choose,__  
__I shall but love thee better after death._  
- Elizabeth Barret Browning

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Sakura's eyes fluttered, her mouth opening ever so slightly as she let out a slow breath. She could almost swear that her eyes were going to roll into the back of her head. A strange, fuzzy feeling had decided to set up permanent residence in her head; the strong arm that wrapped around the lumbar section of her back was not helping, nor was the bold, almost chilling touch to the side of her face and neck. This was _so_ much better than her first kiss.

Her first kiss hadn't been glorious or mind-blowing like it always was in those stories—it'd been terrible.

She'd been far too excited for one thing, far too nervous; she'd thrown herself at him without even thinking about it.

That first day was her downfall.

It had to have been the heat of course. The day had been so stiflingly hot that she'd ended up taking off her shirt and just training in her sports bra. "Falling" into the river had not originally been part of the plan, but it had been a wonderfully ingenious addition to the day's schedule.

She'd seen Kakashi in all sorts of wardrobes, and all sorts of environments. When the Copy-nin had first removed his jounin vest and over-shirt to better train with Naruto, she had not thought anything of it.

She hadn't been expected the sudden rush of heat to her face and loins; the way merely looking at him caused her to ache.

Kakashi did not notice; far too involved in his battle with Naruto to even pay attention to where his female 'student' had gone, not while there was boy-fun to be had. A ways away, perched underneath a tree, watching the battle furiously, the Uchiha, the very bane of her mediocre existence couldn't even notice that she'd disappeared under the shifting waters.

Sasuke had been too distracted; he never paid attention to anything during training sessions, let alone her, if it suited his best interest. Since Hinata, Naruto had always either been distracted by Sasuke or Kakashi.

Almost fully immersed in the river, she was glad that nobody had ever noticed her openly staring.

While none of them were officially Kakashi's students anymore, he still treated them like they were. Sasuke was merely a jounin with a mission: do whatever it took to fix his tarnished Uchiha name and find some broad to pump out multiple children. Naruto had had Jiraiya who'd taken him under his wing, as well as his girlfriend.

And she, Sakura Haruno, had her training of the medic-nin ways through the Godaime; Hokage Tsunade.

But fortunately, despite her currently sensei's love of walking around with her top open, she was absolutely nothing like Kakashi. Sakura figured she should be glad for that. If seeing Tsunade's breasts every day had started to turn her on, she might have spayed herself.

The biggest problem had been. . . well, attempting to _understand _where this sudden rush of heat for her ex-sensei.

She could barely stand to even look him in the face now without flushing.

She had seen Kakashi before. She used to lie on his back when he did his famous thousand one-fingered pushups. She had healed numerous parts on his body, without blushing, without stuttering, without this sudden _heat_ that she felt whenever she was near him. It simmered down her chest and pooled in her gut, reminding her very much so of when she had trained in the snow and then drank hot chocolate.

Except the feeling was _so_ much more pleasant.

She had been able to ignore it for the most part; the sudden urges that had swept into her system. The way she now noticed how he moved, graceful and loping, almost like a dancer—though she couldn't ever picture Kakashi dressed in hose and spandex.

It was far easier to picture him lounging, _naked_ and _sweaty,_ on her bed like he'd done in her dreams.

Who'd ever said "Time heals all wounds" had been a big liar; the time only made it worse. Weeks passed like days the older you got, and when she ended up having such a close contact with Kakashi, she found it hard not to jump him.

On the way home from a private reconnaissance mission alone, she had.

Sakura had leapt at him, wrapping her arms awkwardly around his neck as she'd attempted to press her lips to his like she'd read in all those novels. Unfortunately, unlike those books, it didn't go perfect. Everything that _could_ go wrong _did_.

Not only did the force of her jump cause them to fall to the ground, but she couldn't work her face into the right position and their teeth clinked together so painfully she was surprised she didn't chip a tooth. In the mess of awkwardly bumping noses, she'd managed to kiss his lips for a second before he pulled back, surprise written across his visible face, single gray eye staring.

"_Sakura, what are you doing?"_

She'd run away like a coward.

What else could she do, faced with her ex-sensei, somebody that had come to be her friend? The look he'd given her confused her, hurt her and turned her on all at once. She had the feelings that were suddenly emerging. She had loved Sasuke for so long, but he'd never set her skin on fire.

Seeing him, standing on her doorstep, all slouched and tired-looking, after avoiding him for almost a week, she'd nearly fainted.

Now, perched on his lap as he lounged on the couch, his thumbs played haywire on her hips. His lips lingered on hers, his breath light against her face. She smiled, so lax against his chest that she could feel his deep chuckle reverberate in her own. "What number are we on, Sakura?" he said huskily, hands splaying against her side, possessively pulling her tighter against his body.

"I lost count," she whispered, running her hands down his chest. "We can start at one again."


	6. Cure for the Common Cold

**Title:** Cure for the Common Cold  
**Fandom/Community:** Naruto / kakasakudrabble  
**Characters:** Kakashi, Sakura, Naruto  
**Pairing:** KakaSaku  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Word of the Week:** Gift (open word/writer's choice)

**Author Notes:** Happy Birthday, Kakashi! Well, seeing as yesterday was Kakashi's birthday, I'm doing a little shuffling to the order of my drabbles. After trying to muse over the next word ("Word 6, curiosity"), I realized that I could not manage to work anything that I really wanted to into the plotline. Word 10 was an open word, or "writer's choice", and so I am sliding it into place so that I can do my original idea for the Birthday!Kakashi fic I wanted.

This is also for my mother, who _never_ gets sick, and is utterly miserable at the moment with a terrible head and chest cold.

ShipperTrish – Hah, this is actually a pretty funny coincidence. I read your stories on the KakaSaku Archive long before I had ever decided to actually _start_ writing KakaSaku. I just find it slightly amusing, seeing as I thought your material was very well written and I liked it. It really brought a smile to my face to see somebody else that I thought was such a good writer talking to me about how you liked my stories. I really appreciate it.

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"But Sakura-chaaaaaan!" he whined, sticking out his lower lip, as though he were twelve-years old again and could make her feel bad simply by pouting. She couldn't help but giggle, biting her lip to keep the smile from her face. "It's Kakashi-sensei's _birthday_! We get to _hang-out_ with him! In a _bar_! With his _friends_!"

Sakura blew her nose—into a tissue that felt more like a rock than cloth—which was pinker than her hair.

She was curled against four large, feathery pillows; her coral-coloured comforter was fluffed up around her. Sakura figured she looked like crap for the most part. Her hair was currently pulled up into a high ponytail and she was cuddled into an oversized hoodie of Naruto's, immersed in her bed. She hadn't bothered putting pants on when Naruto came.

Sniffling, she grinned. "Naruto, we've hung out with them all before. Really, it's no fun when you're sick. I feel all mopey and tired and _disgusting_. I wanna stay home and drink soup and read romance novels."

Naruto sighed, head dropping a little. "Okaay, Sakura-chan," he resigned, disappointed. "What do you want me to tell everybody?"

"I don't know," she muttered sarcastically, "I'm sick? It's the truth, no reason to make something up. Tell Ino I'm sorry I couldn't come and help her pick out an outfit; tell Kakashi happy birthday for me and I'm sorry I couldn't come."

She felt the heat spread through her gut as she spoke his name.

It was those types of feelings that made her almost glad she wasn't feeling up to going tonight. It was hard enough o see him every time she had to treat his wounds or send him a message from the Hokage. She was lucky that Team Seven wasn't an actual team anymore as much as a close-nit group of friends who would die for each other. If she had to see him everyday for practice training she might have exploded.

"Take my gift for me, would ya?" Sakura asked, more an instruction than a question, after extricating herself from the boy's hug. 'It's on the coffee table."

"What'd you get him?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Favor from Jiraiya; I helped him out so Tsunade wouldn't fry his ass. He gave me one of the limited edition _Icha Icha_ books: _Icha Icha Heaven_. It was the prototype he first wrote and sent in before he got the publishing contract; he rewrote _Heaven_ and made _Paradise_. There are only four finished copies in existence."

"No fair" Naruto whined. "Your gifts are always better than mine."

She knew her gift was amazing; but she didn't want to rub it in, so she smiled for Naruto's sake. "I'm sure he'll love whatever you give him."

She waved as he left the apartment; she could hear the door click behind him. Instantly, she submersed herself fully in the full-sized bed, tugging the ribbon from her hair and letting it fan her face. She snuggled deeply into hoodie, smiling indulgently as her nose sunk beneath the cloth. Naruto must have been using cologne when he wore it; it smelled slightly spicy.

Comforted in the warmth of the bed and the deep masculine scent it still contained, she blew her nose one final time before falling into a slightly restful sleep.

She was awakened, however, to a dark room and a figure crouching over her, knees on either side of her sleeping form.

Sakura screamed and flinging her arms at the shadow.

"Calm down, Sakura-chan," the figure whispered playfully, catching her hands easily and pinning them at her side. "I thought you were sick? You don't look very sick."

She took a deep breath, staring with wide green eyes at the shadow, a familiar feeling washing over her as she heard his slow, drawling voice. He was _so_ utterly close to her; she almost felt the air being sucked from her lungs. She opened her mouth, trying to get back the voice that had been driven from her body. She could barely see his face, the room was so dark now—it had to be late—merely the outline of his jaw and his hair.

"Kakashi?" Sakura struggled against his hands, which still held her wrists. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to thank you for the gift you sent with Naruto," he said calmly, merely leaning over her. "But I think I need to start thanking for another gift." His lone gray eye twinkled darkly in the black room.

She almost wanted to struggle. "Huh?"

"You're all _gift-wrapped_ for me."

She instantly started arguing, attempting to rebel against the warmth that reddened her already flushed features. "No, this is one of Naruto's—!" She trailed off, her mouth slightly open, when Kakashi started chuckling.

"Actually," he murmured, leaning down and trailing his masked nose along her jaw; it couldn't be healthy for her heart to beat this fast. "It's one of mine. Can't imagine how it got here." One of her hands was released as his hand rose to his face, but she didn't move. It had to be a dream. It was dark enough that she couldn't really get a good look at his face as his mask pooled around his neck. Her hand lifted and brushed across smooth, _masculine_ features that felt good beneath her palm.

He turned his head to the side and pressed his lips against the inside of her wrist.

Suddenly, Sakura didn't feel sick anymore.

"Please tell me I'm not dreaming."

The man leaned forward and pressed his lips chastely against her own, and she whimpered, closing her eyes rapidly. He smirked against her, and she was surprised by how much that tiny movement turned her on. "Does it feel like a dream?" She would have replied, but he was kissing her again. His hands slid deftly, massaging, up her sides under the hoodie.

"What are you doing?"

"It's my birthday, Sakura-chan," he whispered, almost gleefully. "I want to unwrap my present."


	7. There Is a Light That Never Goes Out

**Title:** There Is a Light that Never Goes Out  
**Fandom/Community:** Naruto / kakasakudrabble  
**Characters:** Kakashi, Sakura, Ino, Hinata, Tenten, Temari, Naruto, Genma  
**Pairing:** KakaSaku  
**Rating:** PG  
**Word of the Week:** Curiosity

**Author Notes:** Most people would have done something with his mask or his books. I wanted something more sentimental and emotional. And I've found that in almost all of my stories, Kakashi gets the last word, or the last action. I just love when he gets to be cocky or romantic at the end.

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Sakura swirled her straw boredly in her drink, trying to ignore the looks.

She had no idea why she let herself get talked into doing these things. She had never been comfortable around the others girls, other than Ino and Hinata. It was just _weird_.

Hinata was Naruto's girlfriend, and she had accidentally caught them in far too many awkward situations than she cared to remember—they'd done the same to her.

Ino was her _best friend_. They had known each other for forever. They had suffered through kunoichi lessons, the academy, ninja lessons, even Uchiha Sasuke and still managed to have some strange sort of connection with each other's minds and hearts that bordered on freakish.

While Ino had always been there, once Sasuke had left and Naruto had taken with her, she'd been the fourth to her trio of close friends.

Now, with Tenten and Temari there, everything felt awkward.

Tenten used to be on Lee's team, which brought forth all kinds of uncomfortable thoughts about how the boy had followed her around like a lovesick puppy for three years. Temari reminded her too much of Gaara, and while the Kazekage had eventually become a close friend, it was still awkward.

And then of course there was Sasuke's girlfriend, Megumi, a girl that Hinata knew a lot more than the rest of them, as the girl's family was close friends with the Hyuuga's. While Sakura had met the girl before even Sasuke had, it was still incredibly awkward. Ino was often incredibly rude to the girl—her lingering feelings about how Sasuke had ignored them both unable to unwilling to remove themselves from her body.

It was a normal girl's night.

They went over to Tenten's apartment, because while it wasn't the biggest (that was Sakura's), she was the only one that didn't share her apartment with a member of the opposite sex, and thus, didn't chance getting interrupted.

It was normal to talk about girly things like make-up, who was hot and who wasn't; the recent missions they'd been on. One of them would ask Hinata how long it was going to be before Naruto proposed; it would be countered with her asking Megumi when Sasuke would. They'd kid Ino about how often Genma made her take long weekends off so he could keep her to himself; which led to many jokes about him owning a pair of handcuffs.

Somebody always asked Sakura how many old men in the Konoha Hospital had proposed to her.

Temari would make a joke that she should take them up on the offer, just to get laid; Tenten would tell her she should see if any of them had handsome sons, and Megumi would say that she shouldn't rush into anything to fast.

She ignored their teasing for the most part.

Temari had Shikamaru, Ino had Genma, Megumi had Sasuke and Hinata had Naruto. Tenten just hadn't found anybody that wasn't scared of her vast collection of weapons that lined her walls. And well. . .

Ino and Hinata weren't allowed to say anything of course.

They said it was the smallest and that it wasn't in a good part of town. It was because she didn't spend any time there. She was either on missions or at the hospital; that's what they had the staff office filled with couches for.

Unfortunately, she had slipped up a bit.

Now, she sat, curled in the corner on a bar stool she'd helped Ino swipe from the local bar, one elbow on the marble surface as she leaned against the counter, her other covering the bright red mark that bruised the skin on her neck, just below her jaw. The girls were _rabid_.

"C'moooon, Sakura!" Tenten squealed, clutching her beer tighter in her grasp as she spoke. "You've obviously had some sort of _encounter_. You can't just leave us waiting. I told you about that time with me and Neji."

Hinata cast her a sympathetic look from the kitchen where she was mixing more drinks. "Guys, leave Sakura alone," she murmured reproachfully. "She doesn't need to say anything if she doesn't want to."

"Oh, we're just curious, Hinata." Meguma grinned.

Temari was about to open her mouth when the door burst open, hard enough to shake the entire apartment. Naruto was nearly falling as he crashed into the room, gasping for breath. "Genma and Kakashi-sensei are back!"

Megumi tilted her head to the side, as though this were a normal occurrence. "Back from what?"

"Their ANBU mission," Ino breathed, glancing at Sakura. Naruto was glancing between them all, incredibly impatient, as the pink-haired and blonde-haired kunoichis hoisted themselves to their feet and followed him out the door. Almost as an after thought, Hinata not far behind, and the three other girls following at a slower pace, worried about the change in the atmosphere.

Sakura landed near the gates of Konoha at breakneck speed. Her legs had cramped from running so fast, but at least she hadn't plowed into her boyfriend like Ino had—hitting the ground and using the momentum to propel herself into Genma's arms. Sakura sighed; she could hear Megum, Tenten, Temari and Hinata landing somewhere behind her, breathless as she was.

Just because she had the decency not to make the two of them fall to the ground didn't mean she wasn't anymore anxious.

"Kakashi!"

She didn't care who saw, didn't care who noticed. When the Copy-nin turned swiftly to her, opening his arms wide, she seized him around the neck. One of his arms held her painfully tight to his chest, his other sliding into her hair and gripped it, afraid to let go. Sakura pressed her lips against his masked ones, her eyes closed.

"Hello to you too," he whispered, pulling back, hand petting her hair.

Her green eyes were watery. "I love you, Kakashi."

He crooked a finger and tugged his mask down, uncaring of who saw, and pulled her into another kiss. "I love you too."


	8. Pray It’s Raining on Sunday

**Title:** Pray It's Raining on Sunday  
**Fandom/Community:** Naruto / kakasakudrabble  
**Characters:** Kakashi, Sakura  
**Pairing:** KakaSaku  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Word of the Week:** Confessions

**Author Notes:** The result of my iPod deciding to play _mass_ amounts of love songs in the middle of the night, when I'm laying in bed, trying to go to sleep so that I can wake up in time for school. Also, my huge metaphor-fun lines are a bit of missing roleplaying, as I haven't had much time for it as of late. I love sleeping in when it rains—especially when I'm depressed. I think anything would make you feel better if you had Kakashi, though, to come and comfort you. The _Confessions_ part, I dunno, kinda got lost in the metaphors, but it's basically her giving in—_confessing_—to herself that she needs him.

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Deciding to finally pull her head from underneath the covers, it was already early morning. Amazing _how fast_ the days could go when she was here. She continued to lay there. The clouds outside the only visible window in the room observed a scene of chilling gray and blandness, as though the rain had washed the colors away. Yesterday had been a stormy, _gloomy_ day. Days like that caused her to wonder if she was going crazy. Rain pattered lightly against the windows, creating a percussion of sounds in her ears. If she'd been at home she would have ended up talking to herself.

How many days had it been since she had gone home?

_Too long_, her mind told her, incessantly prattling along worries that always seemed to be swept aside with a swift, crease of an eye. _Bills to pay, food to eat before it spoiled, plants to water, fish to feed; an apartment to keep up._

She turned her head and pressed her cheek against the cool side of the pillow, breathing out and in, repeating the motion as she closed her eyes. _Not long enough_, her heart whispered, a delicate rustle like dry leaves against bones.

_No energy to move, just wanted to lay there until she died of happiness. Too warm, too comfortable, too sated, too loved_.

Sakura opened her eyes and spun on her side, facing the dull corner wall the bed was pressed against. She slid a pale, delicate hand from underneath the dark, drably-green comforter and dragged her nails across the silky, white sheets. Her pink hair slid over her eyes, causing her to see through a haze of pastel crimson. She didn't bother to attempt to move the tresses, merely closed her eyes against their irritating texture and blew lazily up at them. Her head turned into the pillow, pressing her nose into the soft fabric, and drinking in the scent.

She was breathing in spices and the smells of the forest. Something like cinnamon, with a hint of nutmeg—or maybe it was vanilla?—she was a horrible cook; she could never tell the difference. But the smell of pines and leaves and the dew was definitely there.

She shouldn't be happy.

Shouldn't _feel_ so comfortable and so at ease.

It was normal to _cry_ and _sob_ and _hurt_ because something had been taken from her that she couldn't ever get back.

The emotions that had been churning within her gut earlier, strong enough to make her physically sick—she'd already gone there spiritually, emotionally—had left the moment after she'd knocked on the door, the moment it had opened and she had stared with jaded, tear-filled eyes up into mismatched ones that made all the _hurt_ go immediately away.

She walked into his apartment, drenched and dripping, and had instantly felt at home.

How many times had she come home to _his _home? Ate the food—_his_ food—that _he_ prepared for her because she looked too thin for _his_ liking? Worn _his_ clothes because she didn't have any clean and _he_ couldn't do laundry to save his life? Slept in _his_ bed because it was better, warmer, more accepting?

If she looked at the far side of _his_ bedroom, she'd find a dresser with separate drawers for the clothes she'd left there. She had her own set of towels in _his_ bathroom; her favorite foods were in _his_ cupboards.

How long had it been since she'd even stepped into her own apartment?

_Too long._

_Not long enough_.

The words waged war within her own mind, threatened to overwhelm her. There were times when the Sensible Sakura would take over and she couldn't believe that she had allowed herself to rely on him so fully. There were times when the Sensitive Sakura looked at Sensible Sakura and punched her lights out—effectively shutting her up for a bit longer.

She was startled by something that sounded like a door closing outside the room, her eyes slid openly slowly; but the door to the bedroom was shut and _try_ as might, she couldn't see through walls. She could only hope to high heaven somebody was now home with her. Content to lounge in bed, she merely turned her head in the opposite direction and stared at the door. She _willed_ it to open. When it didn't she sighed and closed her eyes, rolling her head over to face the wall again.

_She shouldn't be happy_.

But she was.

Irreversibly, unconditionally, irrevocably and all those other _big_ words she could never remember for _forever _and_ always_.

"Why is it you always lay in bed _naked_?" a drawling voice questioned; playfully, softly.

Without opening her eyes, she smirked indulgently. She stretched, catlike, arms reaching to grasp at something that wasn't there above her head, back arching off the bed gracefully. The comforter slipped and a cool gust of air hit her bare breasts. "Should I not be naked?" she inquired back in a slow tone, almost childish.

_Shouldn't_, Sensible Sakura hissed vehemently in her mind, _Seven years since Sasuke left_, only to be shut up by a boot to the face by Sensitive Sakura. Sensitive didn't want to hear Sensible's bitching. Sensitive wanted to be _loved_ again.

The comforter was lifted from her as his naked form lowered slowly atop her own, warming her skin in a way that only _this body_ knew how. A protective way. A comforting way. A way that spoke millions of words to her in the dead of the night, when all she had before was her tears and her stuffed toys from childhood to keep her company. He surrounded her with those feelings only _he_ could evoke; made her shiver all the more when he gave her those looks with mismatched eyes.

"Always be naked." Kakashi's voice was a hush against her skin. "I need you more than the trees need the rain."

_Love me '__til the skies cry tears like lightning and sob like thunder._


	9. This Is How It Begins

**Title:** This Is How It Begins  
**Fandom/Community:** Naruto / kakasakudrabble  
**Characters:** Kakashi, Sakura, Ino, Tenten, Naruto, Sasuke (many other present)  
**Pairing:** KakaSaku, SasuOC  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Word of the Week:** Forbidden

**Author Notes:** I really didn't want to do something angsty for something I knew most would make angsty.

I have this thing: make normally happy things sad and make normally depressing things idiotic and humourous and cute. So, while you could go on the basis of "student/teacher forbidden" or "old/young forbidden". This is based loosely on an idea that's been passed around in a lot of Kakashi fics, but played a rather prominent part in **SilverShine**'s fic The Window. See if you can guess what it is!

And Thanks to Alaina, for looking at me and saying "that's an awesome idea!" and not "dear god, Hiko-chan, you're losing your edge."

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"Shit, Ino!" Sakura muttered, brushing uncomfortably at her behind. "This thing doesn't even cover my butt properly!"

The Yamanaka smirked, twirling in a circle as she walked.

"That's the idea, isn't it?" Ino grinned. She danced in front of the girls, her own skirt blowing dangerous high in the breeze her activity created. "This is what we call _fun_, Sakura-chan. What's the point of going out to a bar if you're not going to play the part?"

"Ino, I want to live in your world, if only for ten minutes," Tenten sighed, giggling softly.

Ino smirked and winked at her. "Why live in _my_ world," she said suggestively, "when you practically have one of your _own_?" When the brunette didn't respond, she grew impatient. "So what's up with you and Hyuuga?"

"Me and Hinata?" Tenten deceptively avoided the potential landmine with relative ease, twisting the question. "We're best friends of course!" Hinata stifled a giggle beside Sakura.

Hands on her hips, Ino paused in the road, causing the other three girls to halt as well. "You know what Hyuuga I mean, Tenten. What's going on between you and Neji?"

The brunette blushed crimson. Growing annoyed with the blonde's prying, Sakura grabbed Ino's arm and started pulling her. "C'mon, Ino-pig, everybody will be there already, and we'll be last. Then you'll be late to a shower you helped plan."

For once, the blonde didn't struggle against the tugging, just allowed herself to be led blindly towards the pub.

They could hear the bar they'd rented for Tsubame's "bridal shower". Sakura mentally scoffed; it wasn't a shower as much as a blatant excuse for all the jounin to get together and get drunk. Most of the invitees were already smashed.

Sakura pushed Ino into the bar, steering her towards the very back, ignoring the awkward fact that most in the bar could see up her skirt. Instead of the tables that filled the rest of the large hall, this section was made with large, half-circle booths that could easily seat at least twenty comfortably.

She easily spotted Naruto and Neji in the throng of people, as they were so tall. Once she reached the booth, releasing Ino now that she'd have distractions, she noticed Temari and Tsubame, seated close, both looking angry. They pointedly ignored when Tenten and Hinata said hello.

Ino leaned down, staring between the two of them.

"What's eating you two?" she asked. "You're supposed to be happy, Tsubame-chan."

Naruto gulped a drink, attempting to inconspicuously grab her arm. "Don't, Ino," he whispered when, after some difficulty, he'd managed to pull her away. "Tsubame-chan and Sasuke-teme just had a huge fight. Shikamaru defended him and then Temari got mad at him. Don't get them even more pissed; look at Neji." He pointed to the Hyuuga, who was sporting a blossoming purple cheek.

Sakura leaned against the table, staring past the young man. "What's Kakashi doing with Sasuke over there?"

"Telling Sasuke a trick to get back on Tsubame-chan's good side," he whispered softly, so the bride-to-be wouldn't overhear.

Ino scoffed. "Like that'll work."

Sakura, however, narrowed her eyes, glancing between the bodies to get a better look at the two men in the dark corner. Kakashi was leaning against the wall, shoulder pressed against the crease of the corner, arms crossed over his chest. Sasuke was slouched in front of him, hands in his pockets. She wouldn't have thought Kakashi was actually talking, what with his mask, if not for the telltale nods from the Uchiha.

"Why is _Kakashi_ giving relationship advice?" the pink-haired kunoichi asked quietly, her eyebrows raised. In all her 10 years ranked under him, she had never once seen him in any sort of relationship that wasn't platonically based.

Naruto grinned. "No idea, but whatever it is, I'll bet it's good."

Sasuke was walking back to them then, getting a slap on the back from Naruto as he returned. Ino shook his hand, good-naturedly mocking him about how she should have known he preferred brunettes. The young man smirked, giving Sakura a friendly, albeit stiff, one-armed hug. When the attention turned to the feuding engaged couple, Sakura walked away.

She slid quietly through the crowd.

When she stopped in front of him, she leaned her back up against the adjoining wall, slowly crossing her arms.

"So." Her soft tone, with the pumping music, kept their conversation from being overheard. "You're giving relationship advice now?"

The Copy-nin shrugged. "Not relationship. Just advice for my favorite student."

She pouted. "I thought I'd been your favorite student, Kakashi-_sensei_?" She dragged the honorary out of the closet and nearly grinned when he made a face. "What did you tell Sasuke?"

"Something he should know how to do as an Uchiha."

"Can't I know?"

"No."

Sakura pouted again. "Why noooot?"

His head finally turned to regard her, now noticing his hitai-ate was up, exposing his left eye. "Only the Uchiha can know, it's not allowed for others to know."

She made a face. "Then why the hell do you know?"

Kakashi sighed. "Let's just say I lost enough bets to that technique to be told how I was being beaten."

"Ah." Sakura grinned and slid closer along the wall. "So it's a technique? Meaning I can con Sasuke into showing it to me if you continue to refuse."

His eyes seemed to darken, snapping to her face amusedly. She didn't like the arrogant smirk that he wore underneath his mask. "Well, Sasuke's getting married now," he glanced away finally—she felt the heat drain from her face. "I doubt Tsubame would be very happy with him attempting to perform sexual acts on anybody that wasn't her."

Sakura blinked at him, and he replied with a wink with the sharingan.

"If you told Sasuke, then you must know how to perform it." She slid even closer, staring up at her former sensei with a look she could only pass blame on alcohol she hadn't consumed. "Why don't _you_ show me, Kakashi?"


	10. My Heart Tells Me That I Am

**Title:** My Heart Tells Me That I Am  
**Fandom/Community:** Naruto / kakasakudrabble  
**Characters:** Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura (other present)  
**Pairing:** KakaSaku  
**Rating:** PG  
**Word of the Week:** Attraction

**Author Notes:** Too much Stephenie Meyer. I'm all girly and romantic in this one. I know all girls wish that we could find men that think this way. I think it's one of our life missions. Can we believe that exactly two weeks after I first posted this, I've gotten 36 reviews and I'm now posting the 10th drabble? I'm quite pleased with myself. This is the most reviews I've ever gotten for something. You people make me happy.

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"Hey, Kakashi-sensei, can I ask you a personal question?"

The Copy-nin turned his head slightly to the side, observing the young man who stood to his right.

A night at the bar had originally sounded fun. He had just gotten back from a four week mission, where he'd been forced to jutsu into a woman half the time, and the other half he was hiding out in a squalor he couldn't even deign to call fleabag. Now, all he wanted to do was go home, and fall into his bed.

Sure enough, Genma was with Kotetsu and Izumo, over at the other end of the bar, where Yamanaka Ino, Tenten and Hyuuga Hinata were perched in their own chairs. There was something about hitting on women in a bar that Kakashi had always shied away from. He wasn't romantic, but he found he would rather meet a woman through a friend than to find some pair of legs in a short skirt that happened to fall his lap.

"Sure, Naruto," Kakashi said slowly, sipping at his drink through his mask.

The young man turned to face him fully, slamming his drink down. "How do you know if you're. . ."

Naruto scratched at the back of his neck as he tried to find the right words. He glanced surreptitiously over his shoulder in the direction of the youngest Jounin females, eyes fixing on the purple-haired woman who was laughing quietly into her hand at something Izumo had said. Kakashi smirked behind his mask. "Don't hurt yourself, Naruto."

"Very funny, sensei," Naruto grumbled, crossing his arms across his chest defensively. "I was just wondering how you know when you, ya'know, _like_ somebody. Like that. And, well, you're a grown-up."

Kakashi closed his eyes in silent mirth, attempting to not outright laugh at his student's face. However, Sasuke didn't seem to care about that, because he snorted rather loudly into his alcohol. "Yea, Kakashi," the Uchiha smirked, wiping at a spot on his chin where sake had dribbled in wake of his amusement. "You're a _grown-up_."

Naruto's eyes narrowed balefully at his obvious mocking.

Kakashi attempted to stem the hilarity that was coursing through his veins. He opened his visible eye and twisted to face his ex-student. "Okay, Naruto," he murmured, setting down his drink and sliding his hands into his pockets. "What do you need to know? Though I had been under the impression that once you passed age eighteen you were technically classified as an adult."

"Oh, you know what I mean."

Sasuke glanced sidelong at his fellow ninja. "Naruto, are you trying to ask Kakashi sex advice?"

Naruto's cheeks flushed crimson, his blue eyes wide. He shook his head furiously.

"Shut up!" He shook his head again, trying to get back on track before glancing up at Kakashi again. "C'mon, sensei, help me out." He glanced over his shoulder once more, meeting Hinata's gaze as it wandered to his own. He glanced back at Kakashi, though it was a cocky blush that now covered his face. "How do you know if she's _the one_?"

Kakashi sighed, visible eye trailing over towards the young girls, watching silently as Hinata smiled as she gazed at Naruto. "How does she make you feel?'

"That's kinda what I was confused about, sensei." The boy plopped down onto the bar stool, staring at him intently.

He stared over Naruto's head, gazing off as he tried to collect his thoughts. "How do you feel . . .?" he began slowly, not bothering to make note of how Sasuke paused in drinking his sake. "How do you feel when she stands next to you? When you catch her looking at you?"

Kakashi turned suddenly, grabbing his abandoned drink, which was still half-full, and drained it in few seconds. Naruto stared, not willing to miss a thing. Sasuke stared openly, his drink now forgotten in front of him.

"There's a difference between attraction and love." He inclined his head over the two of them, staring pointedly at Genma and his two fellow flirters. "Kotetsu can look at any woman in this bar and tell them that he loves them. And he does; he's not lying. He loves women in general. He has spent the last hour attempting to coerce Tenten into letting him buy her a drink.

"But look at the way Genma stares at Ino."

Naruto turned his head and sure enough, the older man was paying attention to the conversation he was carrying on with Izumo, but his eyes never left the young blonde woman's face.

Kakashi smirked when Naruto turned back to look at him, completely enraptured.

"When you're near her, Naruto, does your heart beat faster? Do you find yourself staring into her eyes and not at her breasts? Wondering how she'd look wearing your t-shirt, her hair mussed from sleep. . _instead_ of how she'd look naked?

Kakashi crossed his arms on his chest, closing his eye and leaning heavily against the bar. "Do you want to protect her with your life? Do you want to make sure that she _never_ cries, whether it's at a sad movie, a dead animal or a fallen comrade?"

A cheer caused the men to turn, glancing towards the group of young woman, as they greeted their newly-arrived friend, who Kakashi had noticed as soon as she'd arrived.

A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "If she's _the one_, you don't ever want to be away from her. The distance hurts as bad as a kunai. You want her in your arms, not just your bed. Your mind won't let you forget her, and the smallest nuances make you feel weak. You don't even mind feeling weak. As long as she'll look at you that way again."

Kakashi caught a pair of green as they slid towards him.

"You feel lighter; your entire being feels happier the moment you see her. You want to be _hers_, to have been made just _for her_."


	11. Can’t Steal What’s Been Paid For

**Title:** Can't Steal What's Been Paid For  
**Fandom/Community:** Naruto / kakasakudrabble  
**Characters:** Kakashi, Sakura  
**Pairing:** KakaSaku  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Word of the Week:** Honesty

**Author Notes:** This one took a while. Probably because I couldn't exactly thing of something I wanted to do for Prompt #11, and because I had _craaaazy_ test-take week in school. Two in AP English and a big Bio 2 test. And then Wednesday, I had to go out and get all my Homecoming stuff, and today, I had calling hours for a girl that I knew.

If there are any grammar mistakes, I'm sorry. Typed this quickly.

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She didn't really _need_ anybody.

At least, that was what she kept telling herself.

Haruno Sakura glanced out the window of the archives in the Konoha Hospital. Her tired green eyes were met with a shimmery, streaky-gray window and the steady drizzle of rain.

She sighed, and rubbed at a crick in her neck.

"Life just can't get any easier can it?" she asked herself quietly, closing her eyes as she tilted her head back. It had been raining all day. Not to mention how muddy it had been all week. "No, it's gotta make everything more difficult."

Despite the fact that September was almost over, it was raining like it was mid-April. Half the streets in the lower section of town had been flooded. Some of the worst-off houses even had leaking.

Including her apartment complex.

As she was on the top floor, and in one of the cheapest rooms—like she could afford anything better on her salary—it was like she was living in a swamp. It was just her luck that she had to have such a busy life she couldn't even manage to pay for a decent home for herself.

Sighing, the young woman glanced around the room that she'd spent the last few days in.

The archives room of the Hokage tower wasn't exactly a supply room anymore, as much as it had been turned into her makeshift office. It had originally been made for a low-rate secretary to keep track of all the records. It had eventually been turned into a supply room when they had decided that they didn't need a secretary to do that work. Up until recently, nobody had even come into this room until Tsunade had asked Sakura to go through all the old records they'd ended up shoving in there. A top medic-nin, first in her class, sorting through dusty reports from a decade ago.

What had she been reduced to?

The room was only about ten by fifteen feet. The desk was pressed up against the north wall, directly across from the door. On the east and west walls were large metal file cabinets, stacked from floor to ceiling. It had one low-hanging, old-fashioned swinging light fixture that dangled low over her head and cast long, annoying shadows.

The only good thing about the room was the large, polygonal window that was right above the desk in the north wall.

She sat in a hard wooden chair that was working _wonders_ on her lower back.

"Can these get any stupider?" Sakura opened her eyes and stared blearily down at the large manila folder in front of her, several copies of ninja's files, a picture attached to each of them—people she didn't know—staring up at her. She rubbed her eye with the back of her hand, before leaning over and dropping her head down onto her crossed arms on the desk with a groan.

"Talking to yourself is the first sign of insanity." A hand slid along the exposed portion of her neck, cool and comforting against her sweltered skin.

She leapt up at the touch, back arching; her body instantly recognized it, instantly responded to it.

Sakura turned and swiped at the ninja, a small smile forming on her tired face. "Kakashi!" she exclaimed softly, sighing and putting her hand over her heart. The masked man smiled, sliding slowly just out of her reach. "Don't _do_ that to me. It's so quiet in here; you nearly scared the life right out of me." Her eyes focused on a large canvas bag that the man was holding low at his side, neither attempting to showcase it or hide it.

"Why do you have my bag?"

She narrowed her eyes, lunging for the bag.

He let her grab it, surrendering it without fight. She opened it, and then let out a small, silent scream. "Kakashi!" She got out of her seat, attempting to slap him with her free hand. "What are you doing why _my clothes?_" Her eyes grew even angrier when he avoided her, and merely creased his eye at her endeavor. "And m-m-m-my _underwear?!_"

"I figured you would need a change of clothes for tomorrow," Kakashi replied lazily, leaning back against the corner cabinet. He crossed his arms as he blinked reproachfully at her with his visible eye. "You wouldn't want to come to work in the same clothes you're wearing."

Sakura stared at him.

"What are you talking about, Kakashi?" she asked.

"Your apartment is flooded."

She stared at him as though he had suddenly sprouted orange feelers. "Yes, I _know_ this. I barely got any sleep last night."

He bobbed his head happily. "Which is why you'll be staying at my place."

"_Your_ place?"

Sakura crossed her arms and tossed the bag of clothes to the floor, pink hair whipping around her in her rage. "_Your place?_" she said again, her voice steadily going up in quality. She was going to murder him. No, better, she was going to get the key to his apartment, and _then_ kill him so that she could keep his apartment. He was so tight with the money he spent; he probably had an awesome apartment. "I don't need charity, Kakashi. I can take care of myself."

"I know that."

As Kakashi paced toward her slowly, she faltered.

His hand tangled in her hair in a slow, sensual motion as he brought his face down to her level, gray eye serious. "Unfortunately for you, I force it on you." He grinned beneath his mask slowly. "I should just make you move in. I don't like waking up in the morning with you gone. I prefer when the first thing I see after I wake up is your face."

His tugged his mask down so that it pooled around his neck as he pressed his lips gently against hers.

Sakura could keep telling herself she didn't need anybody.

It was just too bad that she was a bad liar.


	12. Early Morning Summer and Solace

**Title:** Early Morning Summer and Solace  
**Fandom/Community:** Naruto / kakasakudrabble  
**Characters:** Kakashi, Sakura  
**Pairing:** KakaSaku  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Word of the Week:** Guilt

**Author Notes:** This is a result of something that is happening within my own life. My grandmother is passing away. Also, if this has really bad grammar, it's because I'm wearing fake nails. I had Homecoming Saturday night.

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_It was as it should be; Naruto on her left and Sasuke on her right. She twirled, dragging her hands through her hair._

_It reached below her shoulders._

"_Sakura."_

_The word was garbled; distorted so much that she had to do a double take to realize that Sasuke was speaking to her._

_She turned slowly, everything moving far too slow. The blonde boy grabbed her arm, not painfully, but forcefully enough to cause her to halt. Her head moved faster. Naruto was standing before her._

_Suddenly, she was rocked on her feet; everything felt disorienting._

_The Naruto that stood before her now wasn't as she had pictured before, with laughing blue eyes and a flush of excitement in his face at the anticipation of training. The boy in front of her was taller than she was, with a distant and almost cold look to his expression. His eyes were darker than they had been before. He was older._

"_Don't look at him now," Naruto whispered to her, tugging again. She opened her mouth, but found she couldn't speak. "He thinks as they do now. It'll be too painful, Sakura-chan. I don't want to see you cry."_

_She couldn't understand what this Naruto was talking about._

_She made to turn again, but this strange, frigid young man tugged her again. She refused to acknowledge him, attempting to pull away and turn her head. It drug out, slowly, painfully. When her head finally reached around, a force like Tsunade's chakra-enhanced fist hit her in the gut._

_Sasuke stood there with a fist through his stomach, another Naruto behind him. He said her name again, but it was as if someone had put him on mute—his mouth merely moved, no sound came out. She grabbed at her head, trying to scream._

_Her hair was short in her hands._

_The Naruto grabbed her shoulders gently from behind, shaking her._

"Sakura!"

Her head jerked up.

Bleary-eyed, she took in the hospital around her.

She was sitting on the floor outside room 283, back pressed up against the wall, legs pulled up, arms resting on her knees.

From the room, she could hear the soft murmur from Hinata against the louder squall of Naruto's boisterous yelling. "I'm sorry," she mumbled, brushing her hair from her eyes as she tried to get her feet. "I didn't mean. . . I should get back to work. . ." Tsunade's hand caused her to stop.

"Sakura, go home," Tsunade instructed, in her mentor-voice. "You're dead on your feet. What good is a medic if she can't even keep her own eyes open?"

Sakura sighed and nodded her head. "I'll come back later."

"Don't. Go home, shower, eat, sleep. Namely in that order. You can come back in tomorrow."

She knew when she was being dismissed.

She left the hospital, still feeling trapped in that slow, lethargic dream. She didn't even focus on where she was going, allowing her feet to lead her to where ever they directed her. The street she walked was familiar. Her eyes trailed up the complexes, searching without realizing for one apartment in particular. She didn't know why her mind had subconsciously led her here, but now that it had, she was glad.

The door was unadorned; a gray color she'd once joked matched his hair.

She was surprised to find it unlocked.

Her key jingled lightly in her hand as she slipped it back into her shirt pocket.

The apartment smelled like him. It was a peaceful sort of underlying odor that unless you were specifically aware of it, you probably wouldn't notice at all. Musky, she'd once told him. Like sandalwood or some other sort of dusty smell. Foresty. It made sense in her head. She locked the door behind her, letting herself take comfort in the environment.

"Don't look at me like that, Sakura."

His shadow shifted on the couch, distinguishable in the darkness only by the shock of silver hair. She slipped towards him, settling on the end of the mattress of the pullout couch, fisting dark, silky sheets between her fingers.

"It's not your fault, Kakashi."

She could barely see his eyes in the dark.

"C'mere."

His request was quiet; almost unintelligible. She was so attuned to him that she felt the vibrations of his words in her chest more than she heard them. She slipped out of her jacket, kicked her sandals off as she slid along the bed. She half-crawled to him, but the way she did it was far too slow and careful for him to find any sort of pleasure in it. When she was close enough, he reached his right hand out and slid it along her jaw, tangling his fingers in the nape of her neck, stroking her cheek with his thumb. His left held the blanket up so that she could slip under it.

Sakura crouched over him for a minute before lowering her body against his. His warmth against her chilled form felt like food for the starving.

"You're cold."

She smiled. "It's raining outside." Her green eyed hardened. "Stop blaming yourself. It's not your fault."

"If I'd only—" She pressed her lips against his, effectively silencing him. She sighed against his lips, moving in perfect harmony against hers. Her hands pressed against his chest. His held at her face and clutched at her hips. She drank in the scent of him, reveling in the feelings that stirred in her stomach.

Kakashi sighed as he pulled back. "We shouldn't do this. Not tonight."

"Then what should we do?" Her eyes held his as she pulled back and slipped her top off. "Sasuke is dead because of his own choices. I want you to make love to me Kakashi. Not because I'm sad and need comforting, but because you make me happy. You're my little piece of paradise."

The man pulled her down and rolled her over. When he pressed his lips passionately to hers, she could swear she saw heaven.


	13. The Bells May Toll for Some

**Title:** The Bells May Toll for Some (But Nothing Can Change the Shape of Things To Come)  
**Fandom/Community:** Naruto / kakasakudrabble  
**Characters:** Kakashi, Sakura, Ino, 3 OCs  
**Pairing:** KakaSaku  
**Rating:** PG  
**Word of the Week:** Discovery

**Author Notes:** No idea how "discovery" comes into this. Tell me if you can actually see the theme in it. I really can't, but hey, I like this too much to ignore it. (shakes head) I'm so happy though, guys! I've gotten over 50 reviews! That's more reviews for _this_ story _only_ than all of my other 11 stories combined. Thanks a lot. (hearts) You guys rock.

Thanks to all the people who commented about my grandmother. She passed away earlier today (Monday) a little before noon. But I'm okay; she was an amazing woman, she's not in pain anymore, and she's gone to a better place.

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"Sakura, open the damn door?"

The young woman stuffed her knuckles into her mouth, biting down hard on her hand. She attempted to ignore the giggles that issued from behind her, from both her fellow ninja and the young gennin that were seated behind her.

Kakashi's masked face was impassive as he stared at her—his visible eye however was livid.

"Kakashi! So vulgar! We don't use that language in this house. Apologize for having such a foul mouth, or else I'm going to make you eat soap. Like I threatened to do to Rakkan-chan here."

Ino cackled loudly from behind her. "Sakura," she managed, wiping at her blue eyes. "Just let the man in, I don't need him breaking down my door or anything. I'll make you pay for it."

"No need."

The gennin gasped comically, and Ino almost started laughing again, clutching at her sides. Her laughter echoed louder than the young ninja's shock. Sakura pressed her back up against the door, her body rocked with laughter.

Despite the fact that the Copy-nin was stalking towards her rather predatorily, she couldn't help but giggle at the sight of him, all covered in mud and dirt. Grimy water splashed abundantly up his jounin vest and pants. She could barely tell where his face ended and his mask began, his face was streaked so liberally with mud. Most of his hair was now a brown color, dripping slightly onto Ino's wooden floor.

"I'm guessing our boys got the best of you?"

Kakashi fixed a glower on her face as he tossed Ino a scroll without looking at her.

Pausing long enough to catch the scroll, Ino blinked, before opening it. She pumped a fist into the air and smirked broadly. "Congratulations, Team," she announced, turning to the three young gennin that were still perched, rather nervously on the couch. "We've got our first mission. A D, but you're still gennin, so this is a good experience for you."

Sakura smiled, though she still pressed her back against the door. Kakashi snapped his visible eye to the blonde. "_You_ have a gennin team?"

The two kunoichi laughed. "You jealous?" Ino asked mockingly. "Not like anybody would give you another team; you'd just fail them. You're too hard on young ninja."

Kakashi rolled his eyes, choosing to ignore her statement rather than own up to the truth her words bluntly portrayed. He pulled out a copy of _Icha Icha_, before growling almost audibly as he realized that the orange book's pages were now decorated with patterns of runny black ink and caked brown mud. He stalked out of the room, towards the kitchen, leaving Ino and Sakura laughing in his wake.

"Um. . . Haruno-san?"

The pink-haired young woman turned and blinked at the small red-head, perched between the two larger boys on the couch. "Akiraka-chan?" Sakura asked quietly, trying to hide the amazement in her voice. Ino's eyebrows had risen into her hairline; stunned that her female gennin had actually spoken.

Akiraka reminded both females of Hinata. She folded her hands, lowering her head in embarrassment as the attention turned to her. "Is that. . . is that your husband?"

A loud thump came from the kitchen.

Ino gave a cackle of laughter.

Sakura blinked, her eyebrows furrowed together and a wrinkle deep in her 'large' forehead. "Why would you think that, Akiraka-chan?" she asked quietly.

"Never mind," the young girl whispered, playing with the fringe of her shirt. "It was impolite to ask. I'm sorry."

The Yamanaka smiled. "No, Akiraka-chan, it was good you had the courage to ask. As for Sakura and Kakashi, well, it's complicated. I guess you could say that Kakashi is afraid of commitment." Sakura blushed slightly, folding her hands behind her back. She was surprised that Ino had noticed that much. Unfortunately, as she opened her mouth to reply, a hand wrapped around her stomach, another covering her mouth.

Kakashi seemed to appear after his limbs had already seized her. "Excuse us."

He jutsu-ed away in a puff of smoke, taking Sakura with him.

He landed casually within his own apartment, dropping her onto the bed with a loud flopping sound. He was six feet away from her in the next few seconds, removing his dirty vest as though it burned him. His shirt came off next, followed by his hitai-ate. Once she recovered, Sakura was pulling herself from the bed, growling as she tugged angrily at her shirt.

"Kakashi, you ass!" she shouted, staring angrily down at her shirt. "Now you got me muddy too."

When she glanced back up, he was standing in front of her, close enough that she could feel his breath on her face. She stilled, staring at him, taken back by his proximity. It threw her off balance, having him so close—close enough that she could smell his musky cologne even over the scent of mud that lingered because of his pants and hair.

He was on one knee before she could even find the strength to breathe.

"I am _not_ afraid of commitment. Now gimme your hand so I can put this goddamn ring on your finger."

Sakura wordlessly held her left hand out and the man slipped a shiny silver band with a green, sparkling jewel on the top.

"Marry me, Sakura."

Her green eyes filled with tears and she blinked furiously, tugging at his neck as she tried to get him to get back to his feet. He complied slowly, drawing his arms around her as she pressed her face into the crook between his neck and his shoulder. She seemed to forget about the fact that his hair was dripping mud onto her shoulders and his legs were pressing dirty water onto her clothes. Sakura leaned back and pulled his face down to hers, lips crashing together.

She murmured against him, "Of course," wrapping her arms tightly around his neck.

"Good," he mumbled, too busy dragging his mouth down her jaw. "Because you're mine."


	14. The Missing Piece of Me

**Title:** The Missing Piece of Me  
**Fandom/Community:** Naruto / kakasakudrabble  
**Characters:** Kakashi, Sakura, Ino  
**Pairing:** KakaSaku  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Word of the Week:** First

**Author Notes:** This came about after I had a conversation with my cousin, who's recently been married. I had trouble. I did the 'first kiss' cliché back in Prompt #5 – Kisses and I didn't feel like doing something else clichéd. It ended up kinda clichéd. . . but I really do like it. (smirks weakly)

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_Nothing unusual, nothing's changed  
Just a little older that's all  
You know when you've found it,  
There's something I've learned  
'Cause you feel it when they take it away_

_Something unusual, something strange  
Comes from nothing at all  
But I'm not a miracle  
And you're not a saint  
Just another soldier  
On the road to nowhere_  
"_**Amie" by Damien Rice**_

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"You can't be leaving this early? It's only been an hour!"

Sakura grinded her teeth, tossing her drink money on the counter. "You're the one who convinced me to come here tonight, Pig," she hissed, tossing a poison-filled glare over her shoulder as she brushed her chin-length pink hair out of her eyes. "I wasn't coming here looking for someone to walk me home."

The blonde shook her head and took another sip of her drink, rolling her blue eyes. She'd left her long blonde hair out of its normal ponytail and it cascaded in waves of pale corn-silk down her back. "You know, we don't invite you to these things to _try_ and make you feel bad."

Even though Ino's words were meant to be reassuring, they had they exact opposite affect on Sakura, fraying her nerves.

"Oh yea?" she asked bitingly. "Then what do you invite me for? It's Couple's Night, Ino-Pig." She spat the title like she'd tasted some cold ramen. "Why would I come to a _Couple's Night_?"

"I was _trying_ to be a good friend." Ino kept her voice to a heated whisper, not willing to draw attention to the fact that she was arguing with her 'best friend'. Most didn't understand their complex love/hate relationship, and she didn't feel like answering the 'Why did you have to piss off Sakura and make her leave?' question all night long.

Sakura drug a hand through her hair and bared her teeth in a smile that looked even more condescending than it felt. "I don't need help, Ino. I have a relationship. If you paid attention enough, you'd realize I've been sleeping in Kakashi's apartment for the past six months."

She walked out of the bar, leaving Ino standing there, mouth wide.

Sakura sighed before she got halfway down the street—too tired to even walk home—and performed the hand-signs tiredly for the jutsu before appearing in an apartment halfway across town. She glanced at the man sitting on the couch, a tiny pug in his lap, before walking past him. "You spend too much time alone, you know that?" she remarked as she walked into his bedroom.

By the time she collapsed against the bed, he was already leaning against the door-jam.

"Hello," he said, though his tone implied it wasn't an actual greeting, "welcome to my home. Please, come in."

Sakura kicked her sandals off before pulling her shirt completely off. Her shorts went next, followed by undergarments. She completely missed the appreciative looks she was getting before she slid into the bed. The blankets were up and over her head as she breathed in deeply, relishing the way the sheets felt cool against her bare skin and the smells that were completely enveloping her.

"All of Konoha is going to know about us tomorrow."

"Uh-huh." He sat down on his side of the bed, pulling back the blankets so that he could see her face. "Is that a fact?"

Sakura bobbed her head up and down, eyes closed pleasantly. "Yea, I kinda mentioned it to Ino-pig after I got annoyed with her about why she invited me to bar. It'll be all over town." Her eyes flicked openly suddenly and she blushed. "Oh, I'm. . . I'm sorry; this is probably going to cause trouble for you, isn't it?" Previous interactions be damned, she cared too much to make his life miserable.

He tsked, grabbing her arm when she tried to get out of the bed. "You're too negative." His breath was against her ear.

She loved the way she fit completely against him; as if they were made for each other.

His lips pressed lightly against the skin at the base of the back of her neck, causing her to shiver. "Why did Ino have you out at the bar?"

He expected her to talk? "Couple's Night. Still trying to set me up." He was far too distracting.

His teeth scraped against her shoulder lightly, causing her to arch away from him—his arm held her in place. "And why would she do that?" He voice sounded gruff, almost angry, but it was whispered so softly, so lazily. "She better not have succeeded." She'd prided herself in knowing every little bit of Hatake Kakashi, from his smell, his body, his body language, to his tone of voices. This was Kakashi _jealous_; something she hadn't gotten the chance to experience yet.

"Would I be here if she had?" Sakura's voice was too breathy. She hated the way it sounded. "I made a comment about sleeping at your house for the past six months."

"Technically, it's been eight months, but who's counting?"

"This is the only time I've slipped up and told somebody."

Kakashi chuckled and pulled her away from his chest, leaning over her slightly so that he could peer into her face. Her hand drifted up and traced his uncovered scar distractedly. "You think she's the _only_ one that knows?"

Her hand fell. "Isn't she?"

"Sakura," Kakashi murmured, pressing kisses along her jaw. "Gai knows, Genma knows, Naruto and Sasuke know, hell, I think even Tsunade knows by now."

"_Excuse me?!_"

"Yea, something about making an honest woman out of you," he murmured, licking the hollow of her collar bone. "I have a ring somewhere in the dresser. You're taking my name, ya'know."

"Okay."

_Hatake Sakura_.

She liked the sound of it. It sounded right. Like it belonged.

His words brought tears to her eyes and he lifted his head long enough to kiss them away, pressing his lips against hers. His hands played mayhem along her sides, twisting and turning, tickling and stroking. His entire body was one huge caress against hers. It was the first time in her life that she'd ever felt like everything had fit—with Kakashi everything clicked into place. He was like the jigsaw piece missing from her puzzle—without him she was unfinished, but with him, she was complete: the perfection she'd always searched for.


	15. A TipToe Through Eden

**Title:** A Tip-Toe Through Eden  
**Fandom/Community:** Naruto / kakasakudrabble  
**Characters:** Kakashi, Sakura, Ino, Genma, Gai, Lee, Naruto, Sasuke  
**Pairing:** KakaSaku  
**Rating:** R  
**Word of the Week:** Lessons

**Author Notes:** I didn't want to be cliché again. . . (shivers) I tried for a different style. Unfortunately, none of the words I wanted to use (Sensei, Instruction, Lessons, Lesson) divide evenly into 1,000. The only one that does is Teach, but I really didn't want to use that. While I wish these could be exactly equal, I just wrote so that everything equals 1,000.

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**L**oyalty

"What I'd like to know," Genma muttered angrily, "is why the girls love _you_. And why you don't seem to care."

Kakashi sighed and waved his hand. "I _don't_ care."

The bar matron was at his side in an instant, plying him with more sake. She flashed him a smile, batting her eyelashes. "That all you need, Hatake-san?" she purred, sliding her hand along his shoulder where she could reach it. "Or is there something. . . _else_. . . that I could help you with?"

Kakashi barely flinched, merely picked her hand up and pushed it towards her. "No, thank you."

Genma stared at him incredulously. "Kakashi, how can you continue to say no to them!?"

"It's called _fidelity_, Genma-kun." Sakura plopped herself down in Kakashi's lap, her back pressed to the Copy-nin's chest. "You should try it some time. You might learn something."

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**E**xcitement

"Hold still! I can't do this with you fidgeting like that."

Sakura closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to calm herself. "Sorry, Ino," she murmured.

Ino slid the zipper up her back in one quick motion, and then slid her hand back down to make sure everything was in place. "That's okay," Ino conceded when Sakura turned her bright, beryl eyes on her. "You're nervous. You need to learn there's no reason, though."

Sakura sighed.

The blonde's laughter was like tinkling bells. She handed Sakura the small bouquet of lilies and baby roses that she'd arranged herself. "Think you're nervous now?" Ino held the door shut, waiting for the music to start. "This is the easy part."

The door slid open, and Sakura stared through her veil. Her stomach twisted when she spotted Kakashi down the aisle.

"Just wait until the wedding _night_."

* * *

**S**incerity

Sakura bit her lip, tears clinging to her eyelashes. She wiped at them furiously. "B-b-but you said—!"

Tsunade laughed and pushed at her apprentice's shoulder, her face alight. "C'mon, little Sakura-chan," she teased. "Do you actually think that anybody could really kill Kakashi? I'm _kidding_! You need to learn how to take a joke."

The Hokage pushed her towards the hospital room door, still laughing.

Sakura let herself in, steeling herself for the worst.

"I can leave, if you want me to."

Kakashi sighed and stared through his one visible eye. "C'mere, Sakura."

She approached the bed slowly. "You can lie to me, if you want."

"I can't," he murmured, pulling her down onto the bed with him once he could. He pressed his lips to hers, chastely, slowly. "I can't lie to you."

* * *

**  
**

**S**entiments

"I don't like the rain."

Sakura lay on her stomach, arms folded under her chin. She stared out at the window; the sky a dark, gloomy gray. Her pink hair fell in front of her eyes, shielding the green partially from view.

Kakashi slowly lowered himself to the bed, kissing along the naked skin from one shoulder to the other. He played with the skin visible above the blanket covering her lower half from his view. His fingertips danced lightly along her sides, butterfly touches that caused her to shiver. "I do."

Her head turned on its side, observing him with one half-lidded jaded eye.

"I thought you hated the rain."

"I _used_ to hate the rain," he murmured, his lips feathering her with kisses. "But I like it now."

"Why the change of heart?"

Kakashi smirked and Sakura shivered at the hungry look his mismatched eyes gave her. "Because you don't go out. Then I get to keep you all to myself."

* * *

**  
**

**O**nly

"What did he say?" Naruto's jaw was nearly on the floor.

Sakura stared, eyes wide. "I think he just _gave up_." The ninja's grip on her arm was tight, but not painful.

"What is the matter, Kakashi!?" Gai stuttered, amazed that he'd evoked such a response in the Copy-nin. "It is not an un-honorable agreement! Surely there's no reason to forfeit. . ."

Kakashi's single steely eye was cold when he returned it back to his rival. "There is nothing honorable about betting Sakura into a date with your _student_." He fixed Lee with a hard stare. The young man shuffled quietly back and forth, avoiding looking at him.

Naruto laughed finally, breaking the tense moment. "He just wants to keep Sakura for himself!"

Gai gasped. "Is that true, rival?"

Kakashi grip on Sakura tightened and he tugged at her to follow him down the street. "Teach your student to keep his eyes to himself." When she followed, a small smile on her face, his arm wrapped possessively around her waist. "She's mine."

* * *

**  
**

**N**atural

She flowed with him, their bodies joined in a rhythm she wasn't even aware of.

Sakura wasn't even sure where she ended and he began anymore.

Her vision blurred.

Kakashi's mouth was hot against her neck, his hands gripping her hips tightly, but with a gentleness that she marveled at. He was so utterly in control, so utterly at ease. She was always amazed by how normal it was to be with him. She never felt awkward, never felt uncomfortable. He radiated confidence, even cockiness, but it eased her very soul.

He kissed her breathless.

Tonight it was all about her; her feelings, her needs. She smiled against his lips. She was a quick study. Tomorrow it'd be about him.

* * *

**  
**

**S**park

"So, what do you see in him, anyway?" Sakura peered over her drink at Genma, her eyes drooping boredly. He was strangely animate for being injured. "Like why do you go for him and not for, say, me?"

Ino poked the man in the stomach. "Stop it," she instructed. "Don't be difficult, Genma."

"No, it's fine, Ino," Sakura said, drinking heavily through a straw for a moment. "You want to know why I love Kakashi?"

"Well, I didn't say love—"

"I do."

Her beryl eyes were fierce. "Just 'cuz you know _how_ to kiss, doesn't mean you kiss _right_. There's gotta be more than just a spark. There's gotta be a _fire_."


	16. You’ll Find Your Servant Is Your Master

**Title:** Then You'll Find Your Servant Is Your Master  
**Fandom/Community:** Naruto / kakasakudrabble  
**Characters:** Kakashi, Sakura, Tsunade  
**Pairing:** KakaSaku  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Word of the Week:** Explaining

**Author Notes:** I felt the need to write an Angry!Sakura. Sigh. Not only do I have nine more of these, but I've fallen behind on my _15minutefic Bleach Drabbles_. I also have my KakaSaku three-shot, _Picture Trends_, that I've been working on—I got most of the first chapter done. Then _Shambling Grounds_, my other KakaSaku fic, which is gonna be more than one chapter for sure now. Then _Blue Ruin_, my InuYasha fic, and also my **dmhgficexchange** fic that I haven't worked on.

This is all in addition to all my school work. Bear with me as I try not to die.

* * *

**  
**

_She'd barely closed the door before a bottle of ink exploded somewhere close to her head._

"_What did he do _this _time to piss you off?"_

_Tsunade's brown eyes narrowed threateningly, fingers flexing to get a better grip on the small desk lamp that Shizune had bought her for her birthday the year before. "Excuse me, Sakura-_chan_?" she asked, her voice frighteningly soft._

* * *

**  
**

The door wobbled, straining against its lock and hinges under the pressure of her fists.

"Kakashi, you ass, open this _goddamn DOOR_!"

She froze for a second, breathing air back into her lungs. Her throat was slowly becoming sore from yelling at him. She was sure that he could hear her screams, and she knew for certain he could sense her chakra. There was a reason why he wasn't letting her inside; she wasn't willing to ignore his little sentiments. If she was pushed, she'd force inside, one way or another.

* * *

**  
**

_Sakura flinched slightly—she was amazed; she flinched when her shishou spoke to her harshly, not when the female threw a breakable object at her. "I mean. . . _please_, tell me how I can punish Kakashi for whatever he did. I promise I will make him hurt and all of that good stuff you like to hear about."_

_The pink-haired kunoichi offered a small smile in an attempt to ward off the beast._

_The Hokage growled for a moment, but set the lamp back on her desk._

_From somewhere on the other side of the door, Sakura could have sworn she'd heard Shizune sigh in relief._

* * *

**  
**

Something inside the apartment shuffled quietly, and Sakura's viridian eyes narrowed. Her anger escalated. Then her eyes flashed knowingly.

"If you don't let me in, you're not going to get sex for a month!"

"Why didn't you say so?"

The door slipped out from underneath her hand; she let out a small shriek as she tumbled head-first into the house.

Sakura growled and pounded her fist—minus super strength—into the floor, biting back a scream. "You have got to be _kidding me_!"

The young woman pushed herself to her knees and turned her head, throwing pink hair from her vision as she stared at him. The silver-haired jounin leaned against the door, single eye staring directly at her. It made her feel almost awkward. She'd seen thousands of Kakashi's stares—this one was new. She wondered if it was one of these looks that had gotten her into this mess.

* * *

**  
**

"_Seven shinobi." Tsunade made a fist and slammed it into the open palm of her other hand. "_Seven_, Sakura. Five jounin, two chuunin. Nobody actually_ saw _him, and those idiots aren't talking. Probably threatened them with an even more severe beating than the first time if they mentioned he was the one to put them in the hospital. Kakashi is the_ best _we've got—I don't want to have to deny him taking part in missions."_

_Sakura sighed and shook her head. "That's seventeen this month. At this rate, Konoha isn't going to have_ any _adult ninja left to defend it." Beryl eyes flashed angrily. "And _I'm _sick of it!"_

"_Punch him for me, kid."_

* * *

**  
**

"Is that all you care about?" she growled, getting to her feet. "Sex?" She scoffed and wiped at her nose, turning away from him. Her eyes fixed on a spot to her left—she kept walking straight. "I should have known."

"Sakura, what's the matter?"

She swerved to the right and grabbed the long-since-dead plant by the rim of its pot. She held it threateningly above her head. "What's the matter?" she echoed, green eyes narrowed angrily. "What the fuck do you _think_ is the matter, Kakashi? I know you're smarter than this, so stop playing dumb with me. You may be smarter than me, but I'm not an idiot."

His single visible eye widened, surprised. "I never thought you were, Sakura." He held out his hands in a placating manner. "Now, let's put down Mr. Ukki. You don't want to do anything you'll regret."

"Regret?"

Her beryl eyes gleamed for a moment.

Then she sighed and sank to the floor, setting the pot down next to her. "Currently, the only thing I regret is dedicating any of my time to you."

Kakashi bent down, slipping an arm under her legs and around her back. He stood up, pulling her against his chest. She growled angrily and pushed at him; his arms tightened around her. "Stop fidgeting," he muttered. He walked to his bedroom and shut the door with his foot, before dropping her on the bed.

"I don't need you to defend me, Kakashi," Sakura mumbled, crossing her arms.

Kakashi stared down at her, hands in his pockets. "Can we speak seriously now, Sakura?"

"Tsunade's pissed at you, ya'know. You need to stop beating people up."

Kakashi leaned over, pushing his hitai-ate up to meet her eyes with both of his own. "Then I wouldn't be a good. . . whatever I am." Sakura sighed—he still refused to say boyfriend. "When shinobi decide to start talking, about you, in less than savory terminology and situations; that's when I step in." His hand reached up and splayed across her cheek affectionately. "You're mine. Every part of you. From your head, to your toes, to your temper."

Sakura sniffed.

"You need to stop making _me_ feel bad."

Kakashi smirked and pressed his lips to her forehead. "I wasn't trying to. I was trying to make you understand."

"Your exposition sucked."

He kissed her forehead again, then her nose, her cheeks, before finally pressing his lips gently against hers. "Aa." His knees slid onto the bed, and he pressed her backwards. Her legs went straight, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. He smirked against her lips. "Enjoying yourself?"

She breathed his masculine scent in, humming in response.

He kissed her again, harder, more fervently. "Good. That's _my_ job." He accented the word specifically.

"I always did have you wrapped around my finger."


	17. Naked Walls of Silk and Skin

**Title:** Naked Walls of Silk and Skin  
**Fandom/Community:** Naruto / kakasakudrabble  
**Characters:** Kakashi, Sakura, Ino, Tenten (Shikamaru, Neji)  
**Pairing:** KakaSaku, NaruHina (Implied ShikaIno and NejiTen)  
**Rating:** R  
**Word of the Week:** Desire

**Author Notes:** I am growing far more comfortable with "sexy" situations. Why write a huge long dialogue of _why_ they desire each other? Why not just _show_ how much they desire each other. Much easier. . . and funner. (snickers)

Almost done with 1/3 of _Picture Trends_. I am also finally working on _Lightning Strikes_. However, recently I was introduced to the wonderful world of NejiTen fanfiction. I'd never specifically looked the pairing up; though Tenten is probably the only person I can even considering pairing with Neji. Life is a wonderful thing. You'll probably see a couple drabbles eventually just for them, too.

* * *

**  
**

"Sakura,_ chill_," Ino whispered heatedly; she stood in front of the mirror, using a senbon to fix the part in her hair. Sakura's head turned slightly to regard her friend.

"You embarrassed yourself, you made a stupid decision, but nobody's holding it against you. I still can't believe you didn't see his face though."

"I know, Ino-chan," Sakura whispered, tugging at the hem of her black dress.

Music started playing, drifting from the reception just getting into full swing. Tenten grinned when she noticed the long-haired shinobi pacing quietly outside the restroom, and slid from the room.

"I can't do this, Ino," she whispered.

Ino offered her a roguish grin when someone yawned boredly outside the restroom. "Sorry, Sakura-chan. You're the one that decided to get smashed."

Sakura stared pathetically after her friend's retreating figure.

She walked into the hall—nobody would forgive her for hiding the girl's restroom all night.

Maybe she could get away with hiding in a dark corner. . .

"Sakura-chan!" She groaned inwardly. Granted, Rock Lee looked a lot better in a tuxedo than he did in a leotard; it _didn'_t help that both were _green_. "Care to dance?" She hated the look in his eyes. She wondered if she should have felt bad about lying to him constantly.

She shook her head. "Sorry, Lee. Got to get. . . the thing. . ." _Smooth, idiot._

Sakura turned and tried to get away from the rest of the crowd. Genma accosted her thrice in the next five minutes, as well as Izumo and Kotetsu.

Maybe the back-room would offer more refuge?

She slipped into darkness quietly—she knew kunoichi wiles would come in handy one day.

A hand grabbed her waist and another pressed a large, cool palm over her face and tugged her deeper into the darkness that the back-room provided. The thick smell of cologne, mixed with his natural, heady smell, was enough to tell her there was no use in fighting against the hands—pine, vanilla and sandalwood all mixed. Her back pressed against the wall as he turned in front of her, head rising.

The breath was knocked from her lungs as fast as if Lee had decided to use one of his taijutsu kicks to her stomach.

Kakashi wasn't wearing his mask.

_Kami. . ._

She had little chance to reflect on her luck as he kissed her, hand slipping along her throat to tilt her head, slanting his lips against hers fiercely. His other hand rested lazily, drawing circles on her hipbone. Sakura drew in a breath as she resurfaced when he pulled back.

"You better not be drunk this time," he whispered hoarsely. A thumb strokes her cheek gently.

"Uh, not yet?"

"Good."

His lips slid more forcefully against hers, both of his hands at her hips. He lifted her first, then slid her down to sit on his upraised knee; braced against the wall. He tugged her slowly on his leg, until she was pulled flush against him. It happened so quick she wasn't even sure what was going on until his one hand slid underneath the silk of her dress.

"You—!" she hissed, pulling her head back, though she reeled from the heat that pooled in her gut—and in her panties. She hoped he couldn't feel the wetness. She hoped even more it didn't leave a stain on his black dress pants. Another aspect she had failed to take full appreciation of yet: Kakashi in a tuxedo.

He licked at the hollow of her throat. "You've been dancing around me too long," he whispered huskily, biting softly at her neck. Sakura whimpered in the back of her throat, and he smirked against her. "After last night. . ."

Sakura struggled, but only to maintain some sort of pride.

If he continued to handle her, he'd strip every inch of dignity; thus leaving her free of any shame when she jumped him.

"It was just a little kiss, Kakashi," she tried to say, but the words were scrambled as much as her brain.

"Uh-huh,_ little_."

His hand swept against her core and she cried out softly—the music was too loud for anyone to hear them, especially in the dark back-room. "Please, Kakashi. . ."

Kakashi smirked and pressed his lips a little more gently against hers. "Please don't tell me to stop," he whispered, voice almost pleading. "Not after all this. Just—_please­_—tell me you want it too."

Lights went off behind her eyes as he tilted his leg at an angle, giving his fingers more room to slip beneath her underwear. Sakura tried to repress the moans of pleasure she knew would erupt if she opened her mouth. One finger slipped inside her, and she convulsed slightly, before taking full advantage of her position. He was here, she was here; he was currently fingering her into oblivion. Evidently, this attraction she felt was a little less one-sided than she had previously thought.

"You want me," she whispered, rather surprised despite the situation.

Kakashi swallowed, Adam's apple bobbing in his throat. "I think that's a little obvious."

Pressing her lips against his roughly, she closed her eyes and ground against his finger. She'd never thought a finger could feel so _good_.

"Think anybody will notice if we leave?"

"I think people would rather us not fuck in the back-room."

He added a second finger and scissored them inside her. She suppressed another scream, grinding harder. "Good." He licked the shell of her ear; he curled his fingers beckoningly. His breath was intoxicatingly hot against her skin. "I want you naked, in my bed, writhing and screaming my name when I make you come. You won't be able to walk for a week."

Really, it shouldn't have surprised her—considering his choice of reading material—that he would be the type to talk dirty.

As he jutsued them to his apartment, Sakura was never more thankful of the fact that dresses were so easy-access.


	18. Aujourd'hui, Demain, Pour toujours

**Title:** Aujourd'hui, Demain, Pour toujours  
**Fandom/Community:** Naruto / kakasakudrabble  
**Characters:** Kakashi, Sakura  
**Pairing:** KakaSaku  
**Rating:** PG  
**Word of the Week:** Emotion

**Author Notes:** This chorus always makes me _wanna cry_. Haha. (weak joke) Basically, we've seen Sakura all emotional over Kakashi already. Let's see the opposite. Hopefully I'll have the next part of _Picture Trends_ done for Friday. (cheers) I have two big papers coming up I'm going to have to start working on. (gags) And please, tell me guys, do you like the fluff (I find it hard to write angst for this pairing in 1,000 words) or would you like me to get into something darker? Personally, seeing as _Picture Trends_ is really dark, I figure you guys would like the WAFF.

* * *

**  
**

_I've never been the kind  
To ever let my feelings show.  
And I thought that being strong  
Meant never losing your self-control.  
But I'm just drunk enough  
To let go of my pain.  
To hell with my pride,  
Let it fall like rain from my eyes.  
Tonight I wanna cry._  
— "Tonight I Wanna Cry_" by Keith Urban_

* * *

**  
**

The rain fell heavily outside the window. Lightning flashed, illuminating his spacious apartment with shadows that it normally didn't have; making it look far darker, eerier than it did during the day. Slouched at his kitchen table, head lowered, he clutched the glass of whiskey tightly in his hand. Kakashi sighed before downing the glass.

"What do I do now, Obito?" he whispered; breath condensing in the air before him. He was a broken man and nothing but the cold could fill him now. "Why is it those I care for only leave me?" His fists clenched, and he had the strongest urge to rear back and kick something. He wanted to deny it, ignore it, anything that he could possible do to get that cold black stone out of his mind.

He didn't even feel cold.

"Kakashi! Are you home?" Naruto's voice drifted over the roar of thunder and lightning cracks as he entered the apartment, and he opened his visible eye to turn and peer at him over his shoulder.

He grunted. "Of course, Naruto," he said, as loud as he dared; the young man still needed to jog closer to hear him.

"It's Sakura, she's —"

_He couldn't hear this_.

Kakashi held up his hand and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Naruto stared at the spot where his ex-sensei had sat mere seconds before, and let his arms drop to his side, head down.

Then he tossed his head back and laughed.

* * *

**  
**

For some reason, he felt cold now.

Kakashi's hand shook slightly as he lowered himself into the seat beside the bed at the end of the room, reaching out his hand. Cold, silver-yellow light drained the color from her face and hair. He reached out and rubbed his cold finger along her warm cheekbone.

Sakura's eyes fluttered and he suppressed a shout of surprise when her body shivered against his cold touch.

"Hey, stranger," she whispered softly. "Fancy seeing you here."

"Sakura," whispered Kakashi, sliding from the chair and dropping to his knees. His hands slid simultaneously along her cheeks, clutching at her face tenderly. "You're awake. . . When?"

She smiled and leaned against his touch. "A few hours ago—or maybe a little longer? I fell back asleep again after Tsunade-shishou checked me over. Naruto was there. . . I think he was crying. How long have I been gone?" Her voice was steadily gaining in strength. She tried to sit up, but Kakashi's hands dropped from her face to push her shoulders back down onto the bed as he got back to his feet—composure seemingly regained.

"Two months."

"It'll be winter now." The smile upon her face broke clean into a grin. "I won't have missed the first Konoha snowfall then."

His hands slowly slid from her shoulders, warmed by her skin; but she grabbed them as quickly as she could, pressing them to her lips weakly as she stared pleadingly at him. "I can't leave yet, please, stay with me."

His knee found its way to the edge of the bed before he could stop himself.

"Your nurses won't appreciate me bothering you, I'm not even supposed to be here," he whispered back. The pad of his thumb trailed against her lips and she parted them instinctively. "I really should go."

"Fuck the nurses, Kakashi," she snapped, tugging as roughly as she could against his arms—any normal person would have had little to no strength, but this was Haruno Sakura, apprentice of Tsunade-hime and she managed to knock him off-balance. "When were started this, I said "Damn regret", and I _mean_ it still." A grin worked its way back onto her face.

"Plus, look in the desk drawer."

She let his left arm go so that he could reach to grab it.

The paper-note was dry in his hands as he pushed the drawer shut, staring with partial amusement and partial shock.

_Hatake,_

_Keep her warm._

_Tsunade_

Kakashi chuckled softly as he slid his flak jacket off and onto the chair he'd previous sat in. He left his sandals on the floor. Sakura weakly lifted the blankets for him to slide underneath.

"You're freezing, Kakashi," she murmured, pressing her lips against his neck. The man shivered. He slid his hands along her body and pulled her closer.

Legs tangled with his, she wrapped her arms around his neck, tugging herself closer. He kissed her forehead, her closed eyelids, her nose, before pressing his lips gently to hers. "I thought I lost you."

Sakura's fingers backtracked and wiped the barely-there tears from his face, sensing the pain in his voice. "I'm here." She kissed his deeply, skimming her hand down to entwine in his. "'Member that promise you made me? That you'd always be there? Well, I promise you, Kakashi, I won't ever leave you—I'll always be here."

He grunted sharply, pulling her hand up. "I'd forgotten about that," Kakashi whispered, eyes narrowed perplexedly as his fingers toyed with the silver ring on her fourth finger.

"It was the first thing I noticed when I woke up," Sakura whispered, beryl eyes watering profusely, but a smile lingered tiredly on her lips. "Do you really mean it?"

He slid his hand along her jawbone and smiled, closing his eye and shaking his head—dislodging his hitai-ate; when he looked back at her, it was through mismatched eyes. "If you'll have me."

He kissed away the tears that slid down her cheeks, and she made sure to pull down his mask before she kissed him—she needed to feel his skin against hers. "You waited two months, Kakashi." She was crying and he was kissing her fiercely, making it hard for her to talk, especially with the feelings that stirred in her belly when she tasted her own tears on his lips. "I'd wait forever for you."

"You won't."

He kissed her strongly, pulling her as close as possible, lips closed, forehead to forehead, heart to heart, hand in hand.


	19. Skylines, Stars and Steeple Chases

**Title:** Skylines, Stars and Steeple Chases  
**Fandom/Community:** Naruto / kakasakudrabble  
**Characters:** Kakashi, Sakura  
**Pairing:** KakaSaku  
**Rating:** R  
**Word of the Week:** Blood

**Author Notes:** All WAFF. (heart) For those who deal with the angst in _Picture Trends_. This really isn't angst, despite the idea of her covered in blood. The entire time I wrote this I was listening to "Rooftops and Invitations" by Dashboard Confessional. Tell me that _not_ a perfect KakaSaku song and I might have to try to kill you. (snickers)

LEMON! Not very descriptive though—hard to manage that in only 1,000 words. I'll do better once I get to the rest.

My original version of this didn't include showing sex—only the after effects and she was going to be doing a virgin moment of _"Wha! WTF? Am I supposed to be bleeding this much!?"_ But some really nice reviews that I got for _Picture Trends_ made me reconsider my position, as you won't be getting any KakaSaku quality time in there until like Chapter IV or V. I hope you guys enjoy it. (snickers)

* * *

**  
**

_Under the cold sheet, where the welcomed touch of skin and skin will meet  
Out on the inside where a girls prize is at the tip of your tongue  
Where every move and each impulse brings clarity  
To stay like this is everything you'll ever need_

_And she just might get you lost  
And she just might leave you torn  
But she just might save your soul  
If she gets you when she gets you any closer_  
**— "_Rooftops and Invitations__" by Dashboard Confessional_**

* * *

**  
**

For having only been in his apartment once before—and she'd been passed out from lack of sleep and over-working herself that time—she easily maneuvered herself around. She walked down the long hallway and into his bathroom, the first door on the right—she'd never been in his bedroom.

She didn't look in the mirror; merely stripped her clothes and deposited them into his hamper. The shower was calling her. She slipped inside without even bothering to take a towel out of the drawer beneath the sink.

The hot water was heavenly.

After washing her body free of the liquid that had congealed on her, she scrubbed roughly at her scalp; trying to remove every remaining portion of crimson that stained her.

It was bad enough, dealing with it during combat. But she couldn't deal with the persistent red, coloring her hands.

Cold hands dropped suddenly, and lingeringly, like ice-cubes on the swell of her hips and she jumped sharply.

He was half undressed—bare-chested, lacking shoes, socks, his hitai-ate but still wearing his jounin pants. Her breath caught in her throat, and she stared, unable to look away. One of his hands lifted from her waist and swept her wet hair away from her face, leaning down and close to her. Her lungs ached from need of oxygen.

"You never answered my question," he murmured softly, both eyes locked in a contest with hers.

Sakura shook her head at his annoying avoidance of the obvious. "I'm naked, in your shower, _with you_, and you're asking me about some stupid question I don't even remember you asking me?"

He quirked a smile; she barely took the time to notice he had no mask on—she'd only seen him a few times, but every time was different. High cheekbones. Strong, square jaw. Straight nose. "I asked you if you were okay."

Her green eyes blinked away the water that clung to her lashes. "I'm always okay when I'm with you."

Kakashi's hand slid from her temple to her jaw, turned her head sideways and crashed his lips down on hers. She didn't know what do with her hands, but remembered that the head was normally a good place to aim for in any situation; she slid them up his slick arms, and one rested on a shoulder while the other settled at the back of his neck. His tongue slid across her bottom lip and she opened her mouth, her own darting hesitantly out to meet his. When they came in contact, his hand dropped from her head and met its companion at her waist.

Fingers tightened and lifted her up; her legs wound around his waist and she hooked her ankles.

She shivered when he pushed her back up against the wall, the severe contrast between hot and cold shaking her.

"I'm clean now, Kakashi," she managed between kisses, breathing hard. Fingers danced against her folds, and she fought the urge to buck against him; managing to merely shake beside his hard form. A bulge pressed against her belly. "Don't make this happen in the bathroom."

He turned the water off with his foot.

_Guess I'll get to see the elusive room now_.

It wasn't too great—rather bland; she'd have to change that. Bed pressed against the east wall, dresser against the north, closet on the west—along with the glass door to the balcony. His sheets felt good against her wet skin, even better when he hovered barely even an inch above her and pressed kisses to her collarbone.

"You ready?" He'd frozen above her, hand stilling inside of her momentarily as his mismatched eyes watched her closely.

Her lips met his forcefully and she ground against the hand that tortured her. He moaned into her kiss and slowed its pace—he dragged it out; a dance of mouths and tongues and breathing. He pulled back for a second to allow both of them to catch their breaths before returning to their kiss.

With her fully distracted, he slid into her slowly; she gasped at the welcome intrusion.

She was tight. He stilled a minute, allowed her vaginal walls to stretch around him without causing much pain. "As much as I hate to say it," he groaned, "I'm somewhat relieved you're not a virgin. I wouldn't have known what to do with you."

Her eyes closed; mouth agape as she adjusted to the incredibly _full_ feeling it was having him inside her. "A mission," gasped Sakura, unable to lose the breathy voice. "Four years ago."

His eyes darkened.

"I'm going to move now."

She nodded, hands clenching his shoulders tightly as she pursed her lips.

He pulled out swiftly, pausing for a moment, before thrusting gently, but quickly, back inside her. Her walls clenched around him and she gasped his name throatily. "Make me forget, Kakashi," she whispered, voice so soft he could barely hear her, and he pressed his lips to her temple. "Make me forget it." She broke off, whimpering distractingly as his finger pressed against her button.

He increased his tempo; her hips surged forward to meet him thrust for thrust.

She cried out, walls flexing and undulating around him. He stilled, allowing her to ride her high. She shook beneath him, stilling after a few minutes; and then he resumed moving. Piston-like thrusts drove into her at a furious pace; and by the time Kakashi pressed his lips against hers to silence his own vocalization, she arched her back, crying out his name over and over again.

"What do you see, Sakura?" Kakashi murmured, raining kisses across her shining face, spilling inside her.

Arms clutched around his shoulders for support as her body continued to shudder rapidly against his. "I see," she breathed, voice raspy from shouting, interrupted by a chaste kiss to her lips. "I see. . . the stars."

Kakashi smiled as he engaged her again in a tantalizingly slow kiss, conveying his own thoughts. He saw heaven in her too.


	20. What Makes the Head Cloudy

**Title:** What Makes the Head Cloudy Makes the Heart Very Clear  
**Fandom/Community:** Naruto / kakasakudrabble  
**Characters:** Kakashi, Sakura, Tsunade, Shizune, Konoha Elders  
**Pairing:** KakaSaku, DanTsu  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Word of the Week:** Time

**Author Notes:** (gasp) I just realized that I forgot to do prompt #17! (sobs) That's okay though. I caught it and, well, they actually don't have to be in order, I'd just wanted them to be. But yea. So you'll get two today.

How many people are getting sad that this is Chapter 20, and we only have 25 Chapters? Yes, I know, I'm sad to see I finally finished it as well. However, don't worry about me and my drabble writing. I signed up the KakaSaku pairing on LJ to participate in **30romances** and **50scenes**, which I've been put on the list. I signed up for **100situations**, but nobody has gotten back to my post about that. So, you'll definitely have more KakaSaku—besides _Picture Trends_—coming your way from me.

Oh yes, I took liberties on Dan's age.

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"Sakura, you need to eat."

She glanced at the dark-haired woman out of the corner of her eye. Her head turned slightly on her fist, pressed against her temple. "I'm not hungry." Her head turned back to her food, using her chopsticks to push the soba around her plate.

Shizune bit her lip. "Sakura," she began, tugging on the fringe of her yukata, "he's been gone for five days and you haven't eaten once. It's 2 AM, you need to eat. I know this is hard for you—"

"You have no _fucking_ idea how hard this is for me." Unable to hold back her sudden anger, the woman tossed her chopsticks onto the table in front of her. Shizune was glad they were only in the hospital mess. "The man I _love_ is currently out, somewhere, probably injured knowing him. I was not told that he was going on a mission, and then I had to wait four hours before anybody even told me that this was an ANBU assassination mission, and that he'd be going without any sort of back up. I was not told because everyone knew that _if_ I was told, the Hokage Monument would no longer be in _existence_, because I would have smashed it to the ground—_he still hadn't recovered from his injuries!_"

She pounded her fist against the table and shoved her plate away.

"I didn't even get to _see_ him for three weeks before the mission," Sakura continued, tears leaking from her beryl eyes. "Because some old bone-bags, who already have one foot in the grave, decided that our relationship was_immoral_ and _unethical_ because he was my teacher for oh. . . about a year and a half ending over _ten years ago_, and we have a fourteen-year age difference."

"Sakura, come here."

The pink-haired kunoichi turned and allowed the older woman to wrap her arms around her.

Shizune smoothed the young woman's hair back, rocking slightly and making soft, shushing noises. "I'm so sorry, Sakura," she whispered, holding the woman gently against the wracking sobs. "You're right, I don't know how hard this is for you—I only understand that it is. Tsunade-sama is trying to do something about it. . ."

"Shizune-san!"

Both women glanced up. "Yes?" The black-haired woman cleared her throat.

A young brown-haired woman stood before them, shifting back and forth on her feet awkwardly. "Hokage-sama wishes both yours and Haruno-san's presence."

"Yes, of course." Shizune tugged the woman from her seat and dragged her along behind her. "Come, Sakura."

Shizune knocked on the door, opening it only when she heard the order to come in. She walked into the room first, pulling Sakura in behind her and then slamming the door shut.

Tsunade sat at her desk, which was strangely scarce of any sake; on her left stood two of Konoha's most prominent Elders. Shizune moved to stand by the woman's right side, leaving Sakura standing in the middle of the room.

"Yo, Sakura-chan."

She spun.

Muddy, tired, and soaking wet, Hatake Kakashi slouched before her, his hands in his pockets. "Kakashi!" She fell against him, throwing her arms around his neck and causing them to crash to the floor. "_Okaeri_."

One hand around her back and the other braced on the floor, she sat on her knees between his legs and leaned against his chest. Kakashi nuzzled his face into the crook of her shoulder. "Tadaima_, koishii_." Lifting his arm, he his fingers through her hair, breathing deeply. "You smell so good." Slipping his mask down momentarily, he pressed a hot kiss right below her ear.

When she giggled and shifted against him, he slipped his mask back on, glancing up and grinned. Shizune stood at attention, hands behind her back, smiling. Tsunade smirked and while the Elders were distracted by watching Kakashi's _unethical/immoral_ PDA, shot down a bowl of sake she slipped from an open drawer.

"Hatake-san," the female Elder began, shifting nervously. "We decided on the course of action concerning your _student_—"

"She's not his student anymore; she's mine." Tsunade smirked. "I'm sorry, but I'm reversing the counsel's orders, Elder."

The aged man turned to glance at her, his beady, watering eyes narrowed suspiciously. "_Gomennasai_, Tsunade-sama, but I do not under—"

The blonde woman openly took another shot. "Your decision was bullshit and you know it." She placed her sake bowl back down and smiled. "I'll have you know that the Third Hokage personally gave both Dan and I permission to have a relationship. Need I remind you that Dan was almost ten years older than I?" Tsunade waved at Kakashi and Sakura, still on the floor. "I am personally giving them permission. A shinobi's life is a short thing—death, pain, loss; they're always on the other side of the door. If you find somebody to love in this world, you need to hang on tooth and nail."

The Elders grunted, faces flushed angrily.

"Kakashi, Sakura, go _home_."

The Copy-nin grinned and wrapped his arms tighter around the young woman before him. "Don't have to tell me twice." Kakashi glanced at the two Elders and winked with his visible eye, before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Sakura smiled and tugged the man's mask down when she felt her back hit the soft bed, enjoying the feel of him hovering over her. "I missed this," she murmured, pressing small kisses to his lips. "I missed you."

She paused when he didn't return them, but found herself suddenly without a shirt. He was working her pants.

"I think this is a record." Her fingernails scratched at the back of his neck. "You could say you missed me."

Kakashi grinned and placed a kiss on her lips. "You wear too many clothes, Sakura-chan." His tongue slid down her neck and across the plains of her collarbone. He butterfly-kissed his way back up, licking the shell of her ear. "And I _am_ saying I missed you. My way is just funner."


	21. And Your Lack of Shame Comes Naturally

**Title:** And Your Lack of Shame Comes Naturally  
**Fandom/Community:** Naruto / kakasakudrabble  
**Characters:** Kakashi, Sakura  
**Pairing:** KakaSaku  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Word of the Week:** Tears

**Author Notes:** Okay, posting this _really_ quickly. So please excuse any sort of grammar mistakes. Literally, besides analysis while I was writing it, and going back to fix a few major discrepancies that were obvious, I did absolutely no grammatical edit. Because I need to finish my Mythology vocabulary, and my English descriptive/persuasive sermon outline and prep-work. xD This next chapter of _Picture Trends_ is coming along slowly but surely; it's got more explication of background stuff than most of everything else. It's kinda. . . static a little. But it's stuff I need to get in there before the story can progress.

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"I believe you have something of mine?"

"You idiot!" she snapped, ignoring the glare he was giving her. "I told you not to get out of bed!"

The book dropped from her hands.

She dropped to her knees, and surprisingly easily dragged him into a sitting position in front of her, pushing him back against his sofa. "You're going to kill yourself, I swear!" Her face flushed an ugly shade of red—a mix of anger and worry all rolled into one—and she lifted his shirt furiously. "You're bleeding again! Do you know how much chakra I used trying to get that damn thing to close?"

Her hands pressed unashamedly against hid pale, stained skin, green light flaring; she was so focused on her work that she didn't notice the way the muscles of his abdomen flexed beneath her fingers.

"You're an idiot," the pink-haired kunoichi muttered, a growl to her voice.

"You've got this _thing_ that makes you think you can _not_ take care of your body and it'll just obey you whenever you want. I don't know how many times you've collapsed because you don't think your injuries were dire enough to bother me. I swear nobody else is going to kill you; your lack of respect for your own health is going to cause you to keel over." She took a breath before continuing.

The injury seemed to close much faster than she expected—maybe she'd managed to heal more of it last night than she had originally thought? She had been so tired, so drained; could she have so easily mistaken the severity of his wounds? She pulled back; however, she was still incredibly angry.

"You're so utterly selfish, Hatake Kakashi."

When she looked back up again, she expected him to be angry with her. She'd stolen his book, his precious _Icha Icha_; lectured him like he was _her_ subordinate and not the opposite. But the man merely creased his eye at her and ruffled her hair, recovered _Icha Icha_ in his hand.

"Sakura-chan," he stage-whispered, shaking his head, "if you'd wanted to read my book, you should have just said so."

For a moment her mouth merely hung open, eyes blinking.

"I can't believe you."

Then Sakura pulled away from him.

"You_fucking jerk_!"

She jumped to her feet and walked into his kitchen; feet beating a furious rhythm on the linoleum floor. _I worry about him, and this is how he repays me?_ She quickly turned on the faucet to let the rush of running water drown what little sounds she made. _Asshole_. Tears streamed down her cheeks and she wiped at her face.

"Kakashi, you suck," she whispered; not caring if he heard her or not.

A strong arm wrapped around her middle, pulling her back against a firm chest. "Don't cry," he whispered, pressing his cheek to the side of her head right by her ear. He rocked her slightly, like a mother would a child. The hand that was not holding her smoothed over her hair. "Please, Sakura-chan, I'm sorry. I'm an idiot, you can hit me, smack me, do whatever you want. Just please, don't cry. Not over me."

"You're such a jerk," she repeated, sniffling loudly.

His head dropped and he pressed his forehead against her shoulder, halting in his rocking, but not yet relinquishing his hold on her. "I know," he said, taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry."

Sakura tugged at him, but he still refused to let go.

She swiveled sideways in his grasp instead and tried to look at him, but his eyes were downcast. "What's the matter with you?" she asked, surprised; her tears had subsided just as quickly as they had overcome her, and the worry curled in her gut again. "You _never_ apologize."

"I just made you cry."

"So has Naruto," she shot back. "So has Sasuke, so has Tsunade and my parents, and Ino. Lots of other people."

Kakashi shook his head, staring down at her with both eyes. "I shouldn't ever do it."

The worry that had been curling in her gut had been replaced with an even more familiar feeling that normally accompanied close contact with the Copy-nin. Warmth pooled in her belly, around her belly button, and every touch was like a little electrical shock. His hand skimmed her shoulder, her neck, cupping her cheek gently.

"I'm going to kiss you now."

He started to lean in, and for a moment Sakura realized that this—their first kiss, something she didn't even know he'd wanted; she of course had been trying to start something up for nearly six months—should have been far more romantic. She should not have tears drying on her face and he shouldn't be still half-injured. But _Kami_, it felt right.

Her eyes closed automatically.

She'd long wondered how kissing Kakashi would have been.

She hadn't even been close.

When his lips touched hers, they were bare; the fabric that had long since separated him from the rest of the world was gone, shed, and all that remained was the feeling that he evoked within her. She turned further in his arm and tilted her head, slanting her mouth against his. He pulled back slowly, and she checked a groan in the back of her throat.

"No crying," he murmured softly, pressing a kiss to the drying skin under each eye.

Sakura refrained from giving her head a shake—unwilling to allow his rain of kisses to stop. "No crying. _Promise_." She smiled softly. "One request though." He _hmmmed_ against her, the vibration of his chest causing her to giggle. "Nobody else sees under the mask. This," — she pulled back, sliding her finger along the scar across his eye — "is mine, and mine only. I don't want to share you."

"Good." Kakashi pressed her back against the wall, hands rubbing circles on her hips. "My request? Only fair." He didn't give her time to protest, kissing her passionately again. "You start reading_Icha Icha_."


	22. Life Between Those Dots

**Title:** But There Is a Life Running Between Those Dots  
**Fandom/Community:** Naruto / kakasakudrabble  
**Characters:** Kakashi, Sakura, Ino, OC  
**Pairing:** KakaSaku  
**Rating:** PG  
**Word of the Week:** Pride

**Author Notes:** Weee. More WAFF to make up to the emoness of _Picture Trends_.

Well. . . I know that _Picture Trends_ is probably going to manage at least 15 chapters. Because I fitted everything that I'd written for _Shambling Grounds_ into Chapters 10 and 11. :P Yea, I'm pathetic. Also, some people who read my lifejournal (like **beautyinsleep**) know about the next two fanfiction I plan on writing have nothing to do with **50scenes**_ or_** 30romances**. KakaSaku has poisoned my brain and I have found it hard to write anything else.

Posting like an hour or so early, but _I'm seventeen!_ OH YEA. I can now get into R-rated movies myself.

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As soon as she stepped a foot out of the civilian bar, she jutsued herself back to her apartment.

Her feet ached. Her dancing partner had not been able to refrain from stepping on her toes.

He was not completely unfortunate; he had high cheekbones, a strong jaw, large oval brown eyes and sandy brown hair. He wasn't exactly in peak condition—that was to be expected, he wasn't a ninja—but he had strong arms, a toned stomach and a great smile. He'd stand five inches taller than she did if she lacked heels.

Unfortunately, he wasn't Sakura's Mr. Right.

He'd been awkward with her all night, unable to get too close when the two of them danced, even slow dancing, and he'd had such a hard time starting a conversation that he stumbled all over his words whenever Sakura smiled at him. It had been a rather disappointing evening.

Something crunched under her heel.

Fallen leaves she knew hadn't come in with her were broken on the floor.

"Naruto?" she called out—the first person she could think of who'd come into her house without her knowledge. When there was no answering yell, she grew a little worried. "Hello? Anybody thinking of sneaking up and trying to rape me?"

"No," a baritone voice drawled from behind her, "but even if somebody hadn't had that idea, they'd have it now."

Sakura sighed, forgoing the continued wear of her sheer blouse for the camisole underneath as she stomped into her kitchen, blithely ignoring the masked man leaning stiffly against her front door. She bent, retrieving a bottle of water from the refrigerator.

Kakashi sidled deeper closer, leaning instead on the wall dividing the kitchen from the living room. "Have fun tonight?"

The pink-haired kunoichi turned and propped herself up onto her countertop, raising an eyebrow at the shinobi before her. "How did you. . .?" She shook her head. "Nevermind. I don't even want to know. But yes, I did. I'll have you know that I danced with a rather nice civilian named Niban and I'll probably double-date with Ino and Shikamaru next week."

"Aa."

Sakura rubbed at the back of her neck, feeling awkward with his intense stare so focused on her—even if it was just one eye. She wished she would have left her blouse on. "Do you not like me dating a civilian?"

She didn't miss the gruff sound that came from his throat. "I didn't know a dance meant dating."

"You know what I mean," she snapped, feeling not at all sorry for making him jealous.

He glowered at her. "I'm sure I don't."

The young woman rolled her eyes. "You don't like the idea of me dating," stated Sakura matter-of-factly, taking a quick swig of her water bottle. "You never have. You don't like when I flirt with boys, whether it be with Lee, Genma, or some civilian you know I'm not going to date. You don't like when I wear short skirts in public. You don't like the idea of me with some other guy. I may not be Mr. Perfect Jounin like you are, but I'm not stupid. It_ bothers_ you."

"Yes," he ground out, gritting his teeth. "It _bothers_ me, as you so eloquently put it."

Sakura smiled. "My next question is. . . _why_?"

"I don't have to have a reason!" Kakashi snapped. It was strange for Kakashi to yell, but Sakura didn't seem surprised. He took a breath to calm his nerves. "Because you're—"

"Because I'm what?" Sakura lowered the water bottle onto the counter and slid slowly back to the floor, her stocking-clad feet sliding on the linoleum floor. "Yours?"

His dark gray eye was suddenly much darker than she ever remembered it to be. He'd stilled; frozen in place against her kitchen wall as she paced toward him and reached up to his face. He didn't move, allowed her to lift his hitai-ate off his head, toss it onto the kitchen table. He closed his eyes to avoid having to look at her.

"Enough pragmatism, Kakashi. It doesn't suit you."

The tip of her fingertip trailed along the raised flesh of his scar beneath his eye. He could feel her breath on his face when she spoke. "Stake your claim. Before someone else does."

He took in a ragged breath. "I _can't_."

"You_can_." She smirked; a flash of pearly white teeth against curling pink, cupid's-bow lips.

Those lips ghosted over his mouth and he felt the air leave his lungs in a gust of wind involuntarily. Her other hand slipped against his own and lifted it to her chest. His palm kissed the bare skin above her breast, feeling the rapid beat of her heart in his own palm. She kissed his jaw—a quick press of lips he had too little time to enjoy—and longed to feel against his mask again. No, against his skin.

"My heart already has a name written on it."

She tore his mask down in one swift motion; eyes shut for his convenience and swiped her tongue against his lips as she pushed her own on his.

Kakashi groaned. His fingertips curled against her skin, sliding to grip the back of her neck as he deepened the kiss against his own better judgment. Her body pressed deliciously against his and he found his other hand compelled her hold her there, anchoring at her waist. Her tongue slid against his, intoxicating in and of itself—that was if you ignored the way she smelled. His hand played with the hair on her neck.

When she pulled back, she hummed. "Hmmm. That was nice."

"Sakura, I—"

She broke him off with a kiss. "You take too long, Kakashi." Her head lay against his chest, and he felt a little guilty that he absolutely loved it. "You're too difficult to make jealous." Her lips were against his again, the guilt slowly slipping away.


	23. I Love That Sound

**Title:** I Love That Sound (So Give Me One More Line)  
**Fandom/Community:** Naruto / kakasakudrabble  
**Characters:** Kakashi, Sakura  
**Pairing:** KakaSaku  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Word of the Week:** Mistake

**Author Notes:** :) This is probably the one I've been looking forward to the most.

I read one of the people's that did the drabbles fics. Well, they did _#23_ and did the angsty side of "mistake" with Sakura waking up from a night of sex (after getting drunk) with Kakashi and then throwing up on the floor and telling Yamato that it was a "mistake" and everything. Yea, well, I didn't like it. xD And after that, I said that when I wrote my _Mistake_, that it'd be something cutesy and not one that made me feel like shit.

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_Shit._

The sky was dark and gray; early morning; mixed with the harsh storms Konohagakure had received and coupled with his window shades kept his room rather dark. Rain pounded against the window in an unending rhythm. Kakashi pulled the covers up over his head, groaning as he settled back into his bed. He tried, desperately, to remember what had happened last night. What had gone wrong. . . what had gone right. . . if anything had happened at all.

The man sighed, and scratched at his face. Not only was he half-naked in bed, which he didn't remember coming home to, but he needed to shave.

Slowly, his eyes slowly moved back over his left shoulder.

Mismatched eyes took in red zip-up shirt and black skirt that hung haphazardly from his desk; black boots in the middle of the floor.

Yea, he was officially screwed.

The toilet flushed in his bathroom, and the man sat up swiftly, searching for his shirt. He spotted it, halfway across the room, and started to get up. The bathroom door opened.

"Ah, you're awake. Took you long enough."

Wait a second—she wasn't crying. . . she didn't _look_ angry. . . and she wasn't screaming and/or punching his face into a bloody pulp.

Was he missing something?

Sakura smiled and stepped across the room slowly. "Do you have a headache?"

Did he have a headache? He risked a glance at his former student, standing in all her glory before him in nothing but her bra and panties. The light beside the bed clicked on, and he noticed he could see a patch of pale pink curls nestled between her legs in the new light that hurt his eyes. Yeah, he had a headache, but he might have had a nosebleed too, now that he thought about it. She stood at the side of his bed, legs slightly crossed and hands behind her back.

"You got pretty wasted last night." She settled herself on the side of his bed. That explained the pounding in his head. Sakura's pale hand slid coolly against his forehead, pushing his hair back. She smirked. "Naruto and Sasuke will be disappointed, your face is completely normal."

"Sakura, I'm really lost." He blinked and sighed. At the moment, he wanted nothing more than take her hard against the bed. _Don't move a muscle._ "I didn't. . ." Kami, he couldn't even _say_ it. "We didn't _do_ anything. . .?" What if he got _her_ drunk _after_ getting drunk? What if she didn't want it? What if he didn't even please her? What if she was a virgin?

She shook her head.

He sighed in relief.

"Unfortunately."

_Say what?!_

"I am so confused."

Sakura brought her legs up onto the bed, wrapping her arms around her knees. "I'm sorry, Kakashi." She didn't look very sorry, but she did look rather cute. His hand twitched under his comforter. "It was all Ino and Genma's idea. I knew I should have never told Ino; and then she and Genma went totally crazy." She bit her lip, brows furrowing.

_Genma_. He should have known. Their couple-in-common had betrayed them. He knew he should have never given Genma any more reason to believe that he felt anything but platonically for her.

"I told Ino not to tell him, but she did. And then Genma said you can't hold your alcohol and that it'd be the perfect chance to try and get you to. . . " Sakura trailed off, eyes wide, and then dropped her forehead onto her knees. "And I shouldn't have said that."

Kakashi blinked.

The day just got stranger and stranger.

The rain fell harder outside, pounding against the window hard enough to sound like thunder—even though the thunder was louder. Sakura hugged her knees closer to her body, shivering slightly. "Did you just say that you were trying to get me drunk so I'd fuck you?"

"Maybe not in so many words."

"What would you do if some random man hauled off and kissed you?"

Sakura slowly lifted her head. "Some random guy? I'd probably put him head first into the nearest wall. Or cut his balls off."

_I think I just shortened my life by ten years_. "What would you do if I kissed you?"

"Open my mouth a little?"

Her back was against the bed, head against the pillows, in three seconds. Her hands tugged at his hair, groaning against his mouth as his hands slid up her bare sides. He nipped her at lower lip, enjoying all too much the way she arched up when his hand skimmed over her cloth-covered breast.

Kakashi pulled back and lingered, resting his forehead against hers so that their noses bumped every time Sakura took a deep breath.

Sakura smirked, opening her eyes. "I think I like this position."

"I think I like it too. Possibly more than you."

She lifted her hips, pushing firmly against him; and the man groaned, closing his eyes. "Can you lose your pants now?"

Kakashi grinned as she snaked her fingers through his hair. He pressed a kiss against her forehead. "Can I take your panties off now?"

Sakura grinned. "Ino picked them out." She pressed a kiss against his nose, trailing her finger along the scar on the left side of his face. "They unsnap on the sides."

"Remind me to thank that girl." He used his hands to stabilize his descent, until he settled, her hips cradling his. Kakashi slanted his mouth against hers, tongue sliding into her mouth and against hers slowly. Sakura closed her eyes and pulled away from him, mouth opening slightly as he distracted her with an experimental roll of his hips. He stared down at her face. "You scared me, y'know. I thought I'd done something and tried to take advantage of you."

The room went dark as the electricity suddenly went out. Sakura laughed at her luck, kissing him. "You'll have to keep me warm."


	24. All We Can Do Is Keep Breathing

**Title:** All We Can Do Is Keep Breathing  
**Fandom/Community:** Naruto / kakasakudrabble  
**Characters:** Kakashi, Sakura  
**Pairing:** KakaSaku  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Word of the Week:** Past

**Author Notes:** I feel like I started a fad. xD So many people have started doing the **kakasakudrabble** one-shots now. I'm gonna end up not feeling special.

One chapter left. Who else is sad?

Hopefully, a new Chapter of _Picture Trends_ should be out sometime this weekend. With three essays in the making, it's been a little hard to find some time to write stuff up. Plus, this chapter is rather difficult, as it's another static one. Muses for other stories sometimes interrupt my _PT_ muse. I really need to just sit down and write it.

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_A blue, black shade of love.  
Sent from above.  
My hands are tied to worlds unknown,  
And this I know.  
Your breath's like wine,  
And just like clouds, my skin crawls.  
It's so divine, the sky it glows with fields of light._

_Did you know that I love you?  
Come and lay with me.  
I love you.  
And honesty, I love you.  
You make me feel alive,  
and I'll love you  
Until the end of time._  
— "_Breathe" by __Angels and Airwaves_

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Her fingers were freezing, her face felt like it was a ball of ice, and she couldn't feel her toes anymore. "I'm gonna kill that man," she thought after a few minutes of wandering down the street. "Making me walk all the way to the Memorial. He's such a jackass."

But, when she'd reached the tall black stone, she was surprised to find that he wasn't there—and there were no footprints.

Sakura seethed quietly.

She was so mad she felt like punching the cenotaph into pieces, but figured it wasn't much of a good idea.

Performing hand-signs slowly—her fingers were too numb to manage doing them fast—she disappeared in a puff of smoke.

The gray door in front of her was a far more fitting victim for her punishment.

"Kakashi!" she yelled. She wasn't quite sure if he'd actually be able to hear her over the howling wind. "C'mon, Kakashi, open the door!" The door shuddered in its jam as she pounded her fist against it angrily. "Kakashi, I _know_ you're home. Can you please just open the door?"

"_Some people are trying to sleep, bitch!"_

Sakura narrowed her eyes angrily as somebody in the apartment complex above his yelled out of their window.

She opened her mouth to yell something ignorant back, but something tugged on her arm and she was pulled into the apartment quickly, stumbling. She fell, landing on her butt roughly. Green eyes glared up at mismatched eyes.

"You know that guy was asking for it."

Kakashi shook his head and held his hand out. "Yes, but I don't need my neighbors complaining to the landlord about how domineering women are beating them up." He lifted her easily enough, and she brushed her pants off angrily. "What do you need, anyway?"

"I wanted to check on you."

The Copy-nin glared at her out of the corner of his eye. "I don't need a babysitter."

"I know that. I just worry, is all" she murmured, glancing away as she slid her coat off. "_Shit_, Kakashi, it's freezing! What the hell? Are you _trying_ to make yourself sick?" Rubbing her arms, she took in his undershirt with the attached mask—his second skin—and then the low-slung jounin pants.

"_I'm_ not cold." Kakashi walked past her, down the hall towards his bedroom. She ignored his attempt to avoid her and followed after him. When he reached his bedroom door, he sighed. "Weren't you supposed to be doing some sort of Christmas party with Ino or something?" he asked without looking at her.

"I was." Her hand was laid on his back and he flinched away from her.

Sakura's face grew hard and she wrapped her arms around his middle instead. "See! That's your problem!"

Kakashi pried at her arms, but she was unwilling to drop her grip. "What? That I don't want to be molested?"

She dropped her arms and stepped back.

"Forget it. Nevermind."

She was halfway to the door when his arms gently slipped around her waist and pulled her back against him. "I'm sorry."

Sakura closed her eyes and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. "I care about you, Kakashi." She laid a hand on his arm; felt it twitch beneath her fingertips. Her other hand raised and slowly located his masked face, before cupping his face gently. "It hurts when you do something like that. Flinch away, like you don't want me to touch you." His arms tightened around her middle.

His face moved away from her hand and buried in the space between her neck and her shoulder. Despite the situation, she couldn't help but shiver.

His lips were almost imperceptible against her neck.

She managed to turn her head slightly to the side and press her lips against his temple. "You distance yourself so much," she whispered, settling for slowly sifting her fingers through his hair. "I understand why, I'm not an idiot, but it worries me. Your actions are idiotic, you're risky so often in missions—there are so many days when I do not know if you're going to come home."

Sakura closed her eyes, biting back tears.

"Everybody I love has died." Kakashi took a deep breathe and exhaled slowly, his breath hot against her neck. "I can't. . . I can't risk that happening again. I can't lose anyone else." He chuckled darkly, arms tightening, hands splaying across her hip. "It's better to have nothing, than to have and lose."

She gripped his hair tightly and tugged, managing to spin in his grasp.

Once turned, her grip lessened on his hair, soothing the aching with a slow, stroking motion.

"And I say that's bullshit." Sakura lifted herself onto her tip-toes and pressed her lips gently against the scar under his left eye. "I want to be close to you. I want you not to feel awkward when I'm closed to you."

"I don't feel awkward," he said, slightly put-out. "It's just wrong."

"Then why does this feel _right_?" Her lips touched his own masked ones instead, and for once, he found himself unable to make a response.

The kiss was soft, chaste, and as _unsexy_ as it could have possibly been.

"It would. . . if this wasn't in the way."

But he wanted more.

His hand pressed against the back of her neck and his lips slanted against hers quietly. Sakura gripped his shoulders tightly, holding her body against his and savoring the way he tasted—dark and musky, like a cured liquor. His fingers threaded through her hair, gently tugging as his other hand grasped at her hip.

When he pulled back, she hummed pleasurably. "See? Closeness is good."

"I'm addicted to you, you know." He spoke more to her hair than her.

Sakura laughed and curled her arms around his neck, holding on tighter. "I'm about as addictive as air, Kakashi."

"Yea, Sakura," he murmured as he pressed his lips to hers again, reveling her. "You're my air—I'd die without you."


	25. Right Where I Belong

**Title:** Right Where I Belong  
**Fandom/Community:** Naruto / kakasakudrabble  
**Characters:** Kakashi, Sakura  
**Pairing:** KakaSaku  
**Rating:** PG  
**Word of the Week:** Need

**Author Notes:** Here we go. . . #25. I'm sad to see this done. I have some good memories with this thing.

I don't really know if this is depressing. . . or just a little less fluff than I normally do. At least, in the situation. I like making Kakashi apologize. He seems like he'd end up being the type of man who'd make mistakes often, because he's just not used to it, but actually feels bad about it and doesn't just give you empty words.

Chapter V of _Picture Trends_ in the works already. 3 As well as a couple one-shots. I'm trying to get my Christmas one done real soon. Should expect something from me by the end of next week.

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_If you could step into my head,  
tell me would you still know me?  
If you woke up in my bed,  
Tell me then would you hold me?  
Or would you simply let it lie,  
Leaving me to wonder why?  
I can't get you out of this head I call mine._

_And I will say:  
Oh no, I can't let you go,  
My little girl!  
Because you're holding up my world.  
So I need you._  
"_**So I Need You" — Three Doors Down**_

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Green eyes glanced nervously about the bedroom, before she put a hand to her chest in an attempt to calm her rushing heart. Pushing mussed hair from her face, she clutched at the blanket; trying to keep her naked form covered. The house was dark, silent, and cold. The gentle hum of the heater didn't reach her.

Sakura glanced around the room before slipping out of the sheets and dashing over to the wall quickly.

The same sound that had awoken her crashed about her again and after a moment, she realized that it was coming from outside. Sakura paced quickly to the window, trying to peer outside.

It was difficult, for the frost in the windows, but she managed to spy the large snow drifts pelting up against the side of the apartment building.

_Fuse box_, she thought to herself lethargically, still demanding her brain to work properly and lose its fuzziness. _Fuse box is in the kitchen_. There was something odd about stalking naked about a house that made her almost want to laugh—but she was far too cold to even contemplate the idea.

She flipped the switches, not really knowing what she was exactly supposed to do; but remembering something about flipping switches.

Nothing turned on.

Sakura sighed and sped back into the bedroom, this time pulling the comforter from the bed to wrap around her unclothed form.

Her feet carried her to the hallway, where she grabbed a few dusty candles from the back of the closet there, and hurrying back to the bedroom. She burned herself twice before giving up.

Something slammed outside of the room. She spun as something incredibly cold grabbed her shoulder a mere second later. Shivers curved her spine.

"S-s-sakura, w-what are you d-d-doing he-ere?"

"Kakashi!" The kunoichi sighed and almost wanted to lean against the bed, relieved. "Don't _do_ that!" She shook her head and then grabbed at the hand that had grabbed her. "Nevermind; you're freezing!"

"It's s-s-s-storm-in-ing." His mismatched eyes narrowed slightly at her but without real anger. His hitai-ate was strangely absent. "T-t-this is m-m-m, k-k-kami, _my_ h-house." He broke off and merely stared at her.

She bit her lip amusedly, tugging him toward the bed despite the slight protests of his frozen body. Then she realized why he was staring.

His comforter had slipped in her sudden fright, and she was noticeably bare.

"I like your apartment better than mine." It was the only excuse that sounded good enough in her mind, even though he raised an eyebrow suspiciously at the response. Sakura pulled his gloves from his hands—they were soaked clean through, his skin was chilled. "Take off your clothes."

He balked. "Sakura, I though—"

"I'm not coming on to you, Kakashi," she snapped coldly, walking away from him and towards the bathroom. She glanced coldly over her shoulder—for some reason she didn't feel the frigid air against her as much. "I told you I'd stop. But you're frozen, and as a medic, I have to take command here; or else you'll lose your bits and pieces to frostbite."

The water was still on, though it wasn't as warm as she'd wished it'd be. She wetted a towel with water as hot as she could coax from the frozen tap before returning to the room. Kakashi had taken her words to heart, had stripped, and settled himself against the bed. He was awkwardly stiff, even as she pressed the steamy towel against his shoulder and chest. He flinched, but glanced up at her with embarrassment.

When he finally met her gaze, he hesitated, before murmuring, "Thank you," softly.

"What are friends for?" She shrugged.

Sakura glanced around the room, spotting her clothes strewn across the floor. She bent to pick up her sweater and then turned to walk away, spotting her jeans. His hand closed around her wrist gently, tugging her backwards—almost childlike. "Stay."

She sighed. "You can't have it both ways, Kakashi," she whispered, twisting her wrist slightly to pull it from his grasp.

He dropped the wet towel and seized her by the shoulders instead, pulling her against him. She struggled, but not before his arms slid around her, encompassing her. "I'm sorry." The words were barely spoken, and she felt herself stiffening. "But I won't say I'm not completely happy." His lips pressed gently against her neck as he dragged her slowly back, onto the bed.

"Let me start over," he whispered, pulling a hand over her head—smoothing her hair—but in a far different way than he'd done when she was little. It sent heat shuddering along her. "Please? Can I at least have that?"

"I'd give you anything," she caved, settling back against his chest. Sakura sighed and leaned into him. "I _have_ given you everything."

She turned, sliding her hands about his neck as he pulled the covers up and over her bare back. "I'll try, Sakura." He pressed a kiss to her temple, then to her lips. "I promise you that. I'll. . . I'll try. It's not _right_ when you're not here." Her arms tightened. "I can't stand it anymore."

"You're finally getting the idea?" She bit her lip, spying him in the dim light.

Kakashi settled his nose into the crook of her neck. He kissed the flesh there. "Cold nights make me miss you." She giggled when he teased a sensitive spot. "It's so cold without you." She returned his kiss wholeheartedly. "I don't want to be cold anymore." He stilled, forehead pressed against hers. "Tell me you hate me."

"_I_ do not lie, Hatake Kakashi." Sakura smirked, licked her lips before pushing them against his again. "I love you."

"I don't deserve you." He kissed her again. "There isn't enough of me to love you."

She curled against him. "I like what's right here in front of me." Her viridian eyes danced as she met his mismatched crimson and obsidian ones. "I wouldn't change it for the world."

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_finis._

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End file.
